Deflated, Chaffetz demanded that the FBI investigate whether Clinton had lied under oath to Congress. Comey told Chaffetz he would need to make a formal request.
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Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who previously said Clinton “violated the law” with the use of her server, told Comey he was “mystified” by the decision and said, “it seems that there are two standards, and there’s no outcome for these types of activities and dealing in a careless way with classified information”.
“We don’t want to put people in jail unless we can prove they knew they were doing something they shouldn’t do”, Comey said.
Comey stood by his department’s findings, that while Clinton’s email system was “careless” she never knowingly or willfully mishandled classified information.
He said during a press conference on Tuesday that while FBI investigators found no “direct evidence” that Clinton’s email domain was successfully hacked, he assessed that “it is possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clinton’s personal email account”.
Compounding the situation was the equally disquieting sworn testimony of Patrick Kennedy, the State Department’s undersecretary for management, who on June 29 answered deposition questions for Judicial Watch attorney Michael Bekesha for 21/2 hours at the Justice Department.
In total, the FBI investigation found 110 emails in 52 email chains containing information that was classified at the time it was sent or received.
A group of Republicans senators has introduced legislation to strip Clinton of her security clearance.
Clinton used a private email server for some of her official business as secretary of state, which may have compromised sensitive information.
“He admitted he knew that was the wrong thing to do”, Comey said of Petraeus.
“Hillary Clinton can’t keep her e-mails safe, and you know what, folks, she sure as hell can’t keep our country safe”, Trump told a recent rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, charging that the investigation was “rigged” in Clinton’s favor.
The chairman of the House committee probing why Hillary Clinton was not indicted this week is telling FBI Director James Comey that the decision is a mystery.
Ryan also has asked Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to bar Clinton from receiving classified briefings for the rest of the campaign.
Comey’s assertion has been that even though Clinton was negligent in her management of classified information, she did not have criminal intent.
Democrats on the panel largely backed Comey despite the tough remarks about her “careless” handling of classified information.
The investigation formally ended Wednesday when Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced that no charges would be filed. They will at least understand how the decision was made. Comey explained exactly what that meant.
Chaffetz then asked Comey whether the FBI investigated Clinton for perjuring herself before Congress.
Comey: Right, that’s what I said. Comey testified that Petraeus was much more culpable, intentionally sharing a vast quantity of classified information with his mistress and lying about it to prosecutors.
Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
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The Oversight and Government Reform Committee of the House of Representatives in Washington has a stated mission to “exercise effective oversight over the federal government” and work “proactively to investigate and expose waste, fraud, and abuse”, but really it exists to investigate the results of investigations that don’t meet the Republican majority’s political narrative.
