Did FBI Director James Comey’s email announcement break the law?
By Lauren Hodges, NPR
October 31, 2016
... The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from using their official authority or influence to affect the result of an election.
An official complaint was filed with the Office of Special Counsel and the Office of Government Ethics by Richard Painter, the chief White House ethics lawyer under the George W. Bush administration from 2005 to 2007. Painter wrote about his decision in an op-ed for The New York Times on Sunday, calling Comey’s move “an abuse of power” ...
“He never should have promised Congress that he would give them updates with respect to Secretary Clinton, when he doesn’t do that with respect to anybody else, when it’s clear that the only reason they want the information is politics” ...
When contacted, an official with the Office of Special Counsel wouldn’t comment on Comey’s case. But should the OSC find a government official in violation of the law, it must write a report to send to the president. Punishments could range from a reprimand to complete departure of the job.
http://www.ktoo.org/2016/10/31/fbi-director-james-comeys-email-announcement-break-law/