4 minPolitics
Clinton says she regrets not confronting Comey more forcefully in 2016
Hillary Clinton said on a podcast that she wishes she had challenged former FBI Director James Comey more forcefully before the 2016 presidential election, as Comey faces a new federal filing.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on a podcast that she regrets not confronting former FBI Director James Comey more forcefully before the 2016 presidential election. Speaking on the show "High Stakes" with Kara Swisher, Clinton said she wished she had taken on Comey directly over what she described as his breach of precedent and his departure from Justice Department norms against interfering in elections.
"I wish somebody had told me that I needed to take on Jim Comey," Clinton said. "I needed to really challenge his breach of precedent, his breaking the Justice Department's norms of not interfering in elections, his deliberate, reckless effort to curry favor with the Republicans. I wish I had taken it on in a very forcefully, frontal way. And I didn't." She added, "Did I want to pick a fight with the director of the FBI? Well, in retrospect, yeah, I did." Swisher agreed that such pushback was necessary, and Clinton said she had been too restrained about fighting back for too long.
Clinton's remarks refer to the final weeks of the 2016 campaign. On Oct. 28, 2016, Comey sent a letter to Congress informing lawmakers that the FBI would review newly discovered emails potentially related to its investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server. On Nov. 6, just two days before the election, Comey told Congress that the review had not changed the FBI's earlier conclusion that criminal charges against Clinton were not warranted. The Oct. 28 letter, which Clinton's remarks marked as exactly 10 years ago on Wednesday, has been a long-running point of dispute over the outcome of the race.
The comments come as Comey is himself facing legal action. The Justice Department filed a two-count criminal information against him on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Prosecutors allege that Comey communicated national defense information and conspired with others to unlawfully disclose it, and that on or about Oct. 5, 2016, he knowingly and willfully communicated information related to the national defense to a person not entitled to receive it. The Justice Department said the filing was made to preserve the allegations before the statute of limitations expired, and that its investigation remains ongoing.
Comey denied wrongdoing in an Instagram post on Monday, calling the latest action an "appalling abuse of the Department of Justice." "Nothing's changed with me. I'm still innocent. I'm not afraid of these people. And I still believe in the independent federal judiciary," he wrote. Comey's attorneys have challenged the filing, arguing that prosecutors cannot proceed without first obtaining an indictment from a federal grand jury.
Clinton's podcast appearance also touched on the upcoming midterm elections. In a separate episode of "High Stakes," she criticized a video from actor Matthew McConaughey encouraging voters to consider independent candidates. McConaughey had argued on social media this month that voting for an independent is not a wasted vote, and that a handful of independent lawmakers could dramatically shift the balance of power in Washington. Clinton said it was "really unfortunate" that he would suggest, two weeks before a midterm aimed at stopping what she called President Trump's corruption, impunity and extreme damage to the country, that any independent candidate is a better choice.
Fox News contributor Joe Concha responded to Clinton's remarks in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying her handling of classified information was careless and reckless and that she should not be revisiting the matter as if she were the victim. Fox News Digital reached out to Comey's team for comment on Clinton's remarks.
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