A House Democrat said Monday that President Obama needs to fire FBI Director James Comey for the actions he took just before the election, which he said may have been enough to give Donald Trump a surprise victory over Hillary Clinton.
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said Monday on CNN that the election was decided by about 110,000 votes in three states, a result so narrow that Comey’s actions may have made a key difference. Nadler took issue with Comey’s July press conference where he called Clinton’s email set up “reckless,” and a letter he sent to Congress 10 days before the election stating the investigation was being reopened.
“What Jim Comey did was so very improper and wrong from the very beginning in July,” Nadler said. “For the head of a police agency to say, ‘We’re indicting because of’ is legitimate. And, to say, ‘We’re not indicting because of’ is legitimate.”
“But, to then give his opinion of concededly legal conduct — which was not illegal, he said — but it was reckless, it was terrible, etc., he was putting his thumb on the scales right then. And, it’s unforgivable for a police agency to opine, frankly, publicly about legal conduct.”
Nadler went on to say President Obama should fire Comey before leaving office.
“The president ought to fire Comey immediately and he ought to order an investigation,” he said.
The Manhattan Democrat took issue with his home city’s FBI office as well, and called for possible criminal charges against any FBI agent who leaked information to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Giuliani advised President-elect Trump during the campaign and is reportedly being considered for a number of positions in the administration. Nadler said reports of FBI agents leaking information to Giuliani is an unprecedented intrusion by police into the country’s elections.
“They ought to investigate or maybe prosecute the people the people at the FBI in New York who were trying to influence the election by leaking damaging information,” Nadler said.
He added, “It’s unforgivable and a threat to our democracy.”
