President Donald Trump was quick to pounce on Republican senators’ claim that former FBI Director James Comey started to draft his statement about not pursuing criminal charges against Hillary Clinton before the FBI had completed its investigation into her use of a private email server as secretary of state.
Trump tweeted about the revelation on Friday morning, reveling in the opportunity to bash his former presidential opponent and the “rigged system.”
Wow, looks like James Comey exonerated Hillary Clinton long before the investigation was over…and so much more. A rigged system!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 1, 2017
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday asking for more information on Comey’s decision-making process in clearing Clinton. In the letter, the senators cited redacted transcripts of interviews with FBI officials who said that Comey began drafting a statement “exonerating” Clinton in May 2016, before the FBI interviewed Clinton and other key aides for its probe.
“The outcome of an investigation should not be prejudged while FBI agents are still hard at work trying to gather the facts,” the senators wrote in their letter. “The FBI should be held to a higher standard than that, especially in a matter of such great public interest and controversy.”