A bipartisan group of more than 30 former state attorneys general released a letter on Monday admonishing FBI Director James Comey for making a “serious mistake” in announcing the FBI had reopened its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server just 10 days before the Nov. 8 election.
“We find the recent actions of FBI director James Comey to be unacceptable and unfair to all involved. We call on him, now that he has injected himself into the electoral process, to immediately provide as much detail as possible so the American public can deal with facts rather than rank speculation and innuendo,” read the letter, which the Clinton campaign later shared with reporters.
Comey has been criticized by Democrats and some Republicans for the timing of his announcement last Friday, which came in the form of a letter to congressional committee chairs. The Clinton campaign has been especially critical of the FBI director, calling his actions “deeply troubling,”
“unprecedented” and “disturbing.” The agency has been reluctant to provide details about its findings, though multiple reports indicate federal investigators discovered hundreds of thousands of new emails on the laptop of disgraced New York Congressman Anthony Weiner during a separate investigation into his sexting habits. Weiner is the soon-to-be ex-husband of Huma Abedin, a top Clinton aide who had been the Democratic presidential hopeful’s deputy chief of staff at the State Department.
Those behind the letter accused Comey of jeopardizing Clinton’s and the Justice Department’s’ reputation by commenting on the investigation so close to the election.
“Prosecutors and investigators must use great caution in even acknowledging investigations prior to their conclusion,” the signatories wrote. “The damage to a citizen’s reputation often cannot be repaired, even if that person is totally cleared by the investigation or the allegations are proven to be completely groundless.”
They added, “We call on the Director to act immediately to provide needed clarity and explanation, and to limit the unfortunate damage his actions have caused.”
The letter comes hours after former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder published his own take on Comey’s decision in an op-ed for The Washington Post, writing: “I fear he has unintentionally and negatively affected public trust in both the Justice Department and the FBI … and he has allowed — again without improper motive — misinformation to be spread by partisans with less pure intentions.”
Included among the signatories on the letter circulated by the Clinton campaign was former Arkansas Attorney General Steve Clark, who was forced to resign from his post and surrender his license to practice law in 1990 after he was caught using public funds to splurge on meals with family, friends and political operatives. Another signatory, former Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler, came under fire in 2013 after photos surfaced of him at a party with his son where teenage drinking had occurred.
The Clinton campaign did not return the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
