Following the hearing, Clinton’s campaign released a statement saying Comey’s testimony “shut thte door on any remaining conspiracy theories once and for all”.
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Comey said it would depend on the circumstances. “It’s not true, but I’ve heard it a lot”.
“So I think of that as kind of real sloppiness”, he said.
Republicans are pushing for a new investigation after the FBI said there was no case against Hilary Clinton over her use of a private email account for official business.
“Our folks did it in an apolitical and a professional way”, Comey said of the FBI’s handling of the investigation.
While Comey Tuesday essentially removed the specter of criminal prosecution from the hotly debated issue, he did rebuke her for being “extremely careless” in the “handling of very sensitive, highly classified information”. No, Comey said, there were multiple devices.
“The question I always look at is, is there evidence that would establish beyond a reasonable doubt that somebody engaged in conducted that violated a criminal statute”. Citing Clinton’s testimony to his committee, he asked Comey a series of questions. “So what I hope you can do today is help the “reasonable person” you made reference to-the reasonable person understand why she appears to be treated differently than the rest of us would be”. Comey, a Republican who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama and also served in the administration of former Republican President George W Bush, has built a reputation as a straight shooter who does not bend to pressure from either party.
Chaffetz and other Republican representatives repeatedly tried to corner Comey on the issue of whether an employee of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who was found to have conducted themselves similarly to Clinton, would have his or her security clearances revoked. Later in the summer, she said it contained none that was “classified at the time”. He said his team found no evidence that she lied under oath or broke the law by discussing classified information in an unclassified setting. But he suggested that Mr Comey had contributed to that by leaving “a perceived gap” between his public criticism of Mrs Clinton and his conclusion not to prosecute.
“I beg you to fill the gap”.
“Amazingly, some Republicans who were praising you just days ago. instantly turned against you”, Representative Cummings said at one point.
Top Republicans in the US Congress have pressed for sanctions against Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for mishandling classified information, with House Speaker Paul Ryan formally asking she be denied such information during the campaign.
Comey: There was classified material emailed.
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He added: “In my mind, it illustrates importantly the distinction to this case”.
