In an internal memo sent Wednesday, FBI Director James Comey defended the timing of document releases from the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server as well as his decision not to recommend charges against Clinton.
“We have leaned very far forward in providing transparency,” Comey wrote in the memo obtained by CNN, explaining that he considered waiting to release documents from the investigation until after Labor Day weekend in order to avoid backlash but ultimately decided against it.
“My judgment was that we had promised transparency and it would be game-playing to withhold it from the public just to avoid folks saying stuff about us,” he wrote. “So we released it Friday.”
He elaborated on his decision not to recommend charges against Clinton, saying that it was not a difficult decision: “At the end of the day, the case itself was not a cliff-hanger; despite all the chest-beating by people no longer in government, there really wasn’t a prosecutable case.”
Comey also took the opportunity to hit back against allegations that the investigation was influenced by outside forces, saying that “those suggesting that we are ‘political’ or part of some ‘fix’ either don’t know us, or they are full of baloney (and maybe some of both).”
Read the full memo below via CNN:
