DoJ officials warned FBI that Comey’s decision to update Congress wasn't consistent wth dept policy
Justice officials warned FBI that Comeys decision to update Congress was not consistent with department policy
Senior Justice Department officials warned the FBI that Director James B. Comeys decision to notify Congress about renewing the investigation into Hillary Clintons private email server was not consistent with long-standing practices of the department, according to officials familiar with the discussions.
The bureau told Justice Department officials that Comey intended to inform lawmakers of newly discovered emails. These officials told the FBI the departments position that we dont comment on an ongoing investigation. And we dont take steps that will be viewed as influencing an election, said one Justice Department official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the high-level conversations.
Director Comey understood our position. He heard it from Justice leadership, the official said. It was conveyed to the FBI, and Comey made an independent decision to alert the Hill. He is operating independently of the Justice Department. And he knows it.
Comey decided to inform Congress that he would look again into Clintons handling of emails during her time as secretary of state for two main reasons: a sense of obligation to lawmakers and a concern that word of the new email discovery would leak to the media and raise questions of a coverup.
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