James Comey: ‘No Serious Person’ Would Attempt to Prosecute Hillary Clinton
Former FBI director claims nobody would make a criminal case against HRC
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In response to the ongoing questions about prosecuting Hillary Clinton for criminal activity, former FBI Director James Comey has said that "no serious person" would attempt to prosecute the ex-secretary of state.
During his testimony to Congress last Friday, Comey appeared irritated by the questions regarding Clinton's email scandal.
Comey answered some of the questions about the Russia investigation, but answers with "I don't know" or "I don't remember" to some of the key points raised by lawmakers.
Speaking to reporters following his testimony, however, Comey pulled focus on the questions related to Hillary's emails:
“After a full day of questioning, two things are clear to me.
"One, we could have done this in an open setting.
"And two, when you read the transcript, you will see that we are talking again about Hillary Clinton’s emails, for heaven’s sakes.
"So I’m not sure we need to do this at all.
"But I’m trying to respect the institution and to answer questions in a respectful way.
"You’ll see I did that in the transcript.”
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During the questioning, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) asked Comey if there is any possibility that the emails could be investigated further, according to Mediaite.
“Not that I can possibly see,” Comey said.
When Lee asked if the case against Hillary Clinton is completely closed, Comey claimed that there was no way it could continue with the current evidence.
“Yes. There’s no serious person who thinks there’s a prosecutable case there,” Comey said.
In the past, however, Comey admitted that Clinton was “extremely careless” and that her actions put classified information at serious risk.
“Although we did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information, there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information,” said Comey.
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Among those leading that line of questioning was House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.
In one revealing moment, he pointedly asked Comey who made the decision in 2016 to allow Cheryl Mills and Heather Samuelson – Clinton’s lawyers and also her aides – to sit in on the FBI’s interview of the former secretary of state.
Comey said he thought the Justice Department did, without objection from the FBI.
Gowdy noted they’ve interviewed some bureau officials who considered that “unusual,” considering Mills and Samuelson were “fact witnesses” allowed to be present during the interview of another, Clinton.
Comey agreed that the arrangement was “certainly unusual in that you had two people who had been witnesses, who were … the subject's lawyers, who after we cleared as to them were allowed to attend the interview.”
During the closed-door interview with congressional lawmakers, Comey confessed that top Bureau officials found Hillary Clinton's handling of classified information “appalling.”
Comey may still return for more closed-door testimony, as GOP lawmakers voiced frustration about not getting answers on certain subjects Friday.
They have a limited amount of time to pursue their investigations before Democrats take control of the House in January.
