Yes, Mrs. Clinton was not indicted. But Comey made damn sure the country understood that the FBI had done its job, and that it did not approve of the behavior its thorough investigation turned up. He did it by simply describing her inappropriate conduct in just-the-facts-ma’am fashion. Short of having to shut down her campaign, it is hard to see how Clinton could have been more damaged politically if Comey had publicly accused her of committing a crime.
So see, this is not Comey’s first rodeo.
I have not understood why commentators were suggesting that the former director would accuse the man who fired him of committing a crime. He knows President Trump did not commit a crime. He knows, as any experienced prosecutor knows, that putting not-so-subtle pressure on a subordinate does not arise to felony obstruction. But I’m betting that Comey’s objection has never been that the president violated the law. What he objects to is his sense that the FBI was being put in the service of a president’s political desires – i.e., his sense that he and the Bureau were being prodded to do the heavy-lifting for a president who was unwilling to take the political heat for shutting down an investigation of a political ally.
The then-FBI director made life plenty unpleasant for President Obama and Mrs. Clinton when they put him in that position. I expect he will do the same for President Trump . . . without ever accusing him of committing a crime.
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