Obama continues to back FBI Director Comey: White House

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

POLITICS | Mon Nov 7, 2016 | 10:52am EST

Obama continues to back FBI Director Comey: White House

President Barack Obama is still confident in FBI Director James Comey's ability to the lead the FBI, the White House said on Monday.

Comey has faced intense criticism for his handling of a probe of Democrat Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server as secretary of state.

"The president views Director Comey as a man of integrity, a man of principle," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters in a briefing. "The president's views of him have not changed ... he continues to have confidence in his ability to run the FBI."

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-whitehouse-fbi-idUSKBN1321ZU

[KittyWampus]

2. He's being diplomatic, IMO. You don't whack a hornet's nest

the day before an election.

TV would be nothing else but that.

[gratuitous]

11. Or, the White House could have just kept quiet

You know, like Comey should have done at least three times. I don't underestimate the popular media's ability to make something out of nothing (viz., the whole FBI investigation into Secretary Clinton's e-mails), but the administration didn't need to say anything. Comey has to know his job security is measured in days, if not hours.

[TCJ70]

3. I'm glad the second round of all this happened last week...

...rather than waiting a few weeks then looking into the emails. The howling from the right wing representatives that the emails were held until after the election is no longer a thing she'll have to deal with. At the end of the day, he has a job to do...he did it...some people don't like the timing but that shouldn't stop him from performing his duties.

[KittyWampus]

6. Good point. It'd have dominated those news cycles.

[Maeve]

4. Hmmmm...a public position and a private position?

It would not be prudent to slap him down now, just before the election, after he cleared up his mess to some extent yesterday, but....a quiet talk in a couple of days?

[vi5]

8. He just can't help it...

..what is with his undying obsession with being perceived as "bipartisan". It's come close to costing us this election, may have cost us the senate, and has definitely cost us a great deal over the past 8 years that he has stubbornly worried about reaching across the aisle at every possible turn.

I hope above all else this will be an area that Hillary improves upon. I know she's going to face the same if not worse obstruction, but I hope she doesn't spend time focusing on what David Brooks or Morning Joe or whoever the hell else thinks and starts from a solid progressive position before "negotiating" (if it can even be called that when the Republicans are involved) rather than starting from the beltway approved centrist position before even starting to negotiate.

And above all else, NO REPUBLICAN DADDIES!!!! She doesn't need to put a Republican anywhere near her cabinet or in any position of power. Period. Do not do it. It will only cause problems.

[SammyWinstonJack]

10. +1000000

[kwolf68]

9. This has to be a joke

I would have rather nothing been said, instead of outright bullshit about "man of principle".