‘Controversy’ over not indicting Clinton drove FBI’s decision: Goodlatte

“With regard to [FBI Director James] Comey making a mistake, I think that he is very conscious of the controversy that has existed in the FBI and in the Justice Department. I’ve talked to FBI agents, former FBI agents, prosecutors, former prosecutors, who have scratched their heads and had been very concerned about how the investigation was conducted and the conclusion that was reached 3 1/2 months ago to not indict” Clinton, Goodlatte said on the Sunday news program “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos.

The Clinton campaign has tried to raise doubt about the motivation of Comey in announcing that it is investigating 11 days before an election, while Republican nominee Donald Trump has been emboldened by the news.

Trump used similar talking points as Goodlatte at campaign rallies on Saturday, saying there must have been a “revolt” at the FBI when Clinton was not indicted. Trump said he was convinced that the new evidence the FBI has will prove Clinton to be guilty of criminal conduct.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., also appeared on the show, saying it’s hard to see how Comey “cleans this up.”

“These are emails he hasn’t even seen,” Schiff said. “I think this was a terrible error in judgement by the director.”

Schiff had served on the special select committee that investigated the terrorist attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where Clinton was blamed by Republicans for the deaths of the U.S. ambassador and others.

Schiff said the letter that was sent to congressmen on Friday describing the newly discovered emails as potentially significant without clearly knowing why raises a level of ambiguity that shows a poor judgement on the part of Comey.

“That kind of an ambiguity bomb this close to election was a terrible lapse in judgement,” said Schiff.