Senior Hillary Clinton staffers told reporters Monday they’re confident in the accuracy of two anonymously sourced reports alleging FBI Director James B. Comey opposed adding his name to a statement accusing Russia of interfering in the presidential election because it was too close to Nov. 8.
“We’re simply acting on the information we have here,” Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said. “It has now been confirmed by two sources.”
Mook and Clinton’s press secretary, Brian Fallon, held a call with reporters Monday evening to discuss an “explosive” report claiming Comey “ensured that the FBI would not join in the announcement naming Russia as interfering with elections because it was too close to Election Day.”
The Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper Jr., and the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Oct. 7 that hacked emails published by WikiLeaks appear to be part of a larger, Russian-led effort to “interfere with the U.S. election process.”
“We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia’s senior-most officials could have authorized these activities,” the statement said.
The FBI was reportedly approached to be part of the statement, but Comey allegedly declined, stating that it was too close to the election to get involved in an effort like that, CNBC reported Monday afternoon.
That article, which cited only one anonymous “former FBI official,” reported, “FBI Director James Comey argued privately that it was too close to Election Day for the United States government to name Russia as meddling in the U.S. election and ultimately ensured that the FBI‘s name was not on the document that the U.S. government put out.”
The Huffington Post reported the same story later that afternoon, but with a separate, also anonymous source.
“A source familiar with the interagency discussions confirms to The Huffington Post that Comey declined to [sign onto a statement saying the Russian government was meddling in the U.S] because, specifically, he was concerned the statement was coming too close to the election,” the Huffington Post reported.
The story’s author stressed his source was separate from CNBC’s, explaining, “The source who spoke to the HuffPo is not a former FBI official and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.”
On Monday, the Clinton campaign pounced on the anonymously sourced stories, claiming they demonstrate the FBI director is applying a clear double standard when it comes to scrutinizing Clinton and GOP nominee Donald Trump.
“In a recent House hearing, [Comey] was asked more than a dozen times about the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, and Russia’s interference in the election,” Mook said. “And each time he denied the comment. It’s impossible to view this as anything less than a blatant double standard.”
“That Director Comey would show more discretion in a matter concerning a foreign state actor than one involving the Democratic nominee for president is nothing short of jaw-dropping,” Mook said.
Comey informed Democratic and Republican lawmakers last week that its investigation of disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner turned up additional emails possibly related to the private server Clinton maintained when she worked at the State Department.
The additional emails were found on a laptop shared by Weiner and his estranged wife and longtime Clinton aide, Huma Abedin.
The laptop may contain as many as 1,000 emails, which FBI agents are checking now to see if they’re related to official government work, if they’re are classified, or if they’re simply duplicates of emails authorities already processed.
