White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday that President Obama doesn’t believe FBI Director James Comey is trying to influence the election, and called him a man of “good character.”
Earnest also said he couldn’t criticize or defend Comey’s decision to announce that it was reopening its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private emails, a move many Democrats have said is a clear attempt to ruin Clinton’s chance of becoming the next president.
Earnest’s comments stand in contrast to those from other Democrats, some of whom have said Comey broke the law.
“The president does not believe that Director Comey is intentionally trying to influence the outcome of an election,” Earnest said.
“The president doesn’t believe that he’s secretly strategizing to benefit one candidate or one political party,” Earnest added. Comey is “in a tough spot and he’s the one who will be in a position to defend his actions in the face of significant criticism from a variety of legal experts including individuals who served in senior Department of Justice positions in administrations that were led by presidents of both parties.
Earnest said he’s not in any position to judge whether Comey made the right decision to publicize the extended investigation.
“I’ll neither criticize nor defend Director Comey’s decision about what to make public in the context of this investigation,” Earnest told reporters. “That’s because I just don’t have independent knowledge of the decisions that are made to release this information.”
He also said he didn’t have “any recommendations to make for him either.”
