Harry Reid says FBI chief’s ‘partisan actions’ may have broken law

Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid accused FBI Director James Comey of breaking federal law through “partisan actions” by disclosing the existence of possible new evidence in the Hillary Clinton e-mail scandal less than two weeks before Election Day on November 8, and of possessing “explosive information” on ties between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

Comey roiled the White house race last week when he told Congress that an ongoing probe into the Anthony Weiner sexting scandal yielded newly discovered emails potentially related to the investigation of Clinton’s private email server.

Comey told Congress in a letter that he was briefed last Thursday about that development and had agreed that investigators should take steps to review the emails for any classified information. The emails were found on a device that belonged to Weiner, the estranged husband of close Clinton aide Huma Abedin.

Law enforcement officials said Sunday that inside sources within the FBI knew about the emails for weeks but only informed Comey on October 27 — a day before he, in turn, informed Republican lawmakers that his team was looking into the matter. The reason for this is unclear.

In a letter to Comey on Sunday, Reid, the US Senate’s top Democrat, wrote: “Your actions in recent months have demonstrated a disturbing double standard for the treatment of sensitive information, with what appears to be a clear intent to aid one political party over another,” Reid wrote. “I am writing to inform you that my office has determined that these actions may violate the Hatch Act, which bars FBI officials from using their official authority to influence an election. Through your partisan actions, you may have broken the law.”

Reid said Comey has resisted calls to release “explosive information about close ties and coordination between Donald Trump, his top advisors, and the Russian government,” and drew a contrast between that issue and how the FBI director has handled the Clinton e-mail probe.

“The public has a right to know this information,” Reid wrote. “I wrote to you months ago calling for this information to be released to the public. There is no danger to American interests from releasing it. And yet, you continue to resist calls to inform the public of this critical information. By contrast, as soon as you came into possession of the slightest innuendo related to Secretary Clinton, you rushed to publicize it in the most negative light possible.”

“The clear double standard established by your actions strongly suggest that your highly selective approach to publicizing information, along with your timing, was intended for the success or failure of a partisan candidate or political group,” Reid went on.

The timing of Comey’s letter less than two weeks before Election Day drew criticism from Democrats and some Republicans who cast it as unprecedented and potentially tipping the scales in the presidential race in favor of Republican Donald Trump.

Energized by the news, the GOP presidential nominee has rallied his supporters, calling the latest developments worse than Watergate and arguing that his candidacy has the momentum in the final days of the race.

“We never thought we were going to say ‘thank you’ to Anthony Weiner,” Trump said in Nevada.

Trump also highlighted reports that the Justice Department had discouraged the FBI from alerting Congress to the unexpected discovery of the emails, and said the department is trying “so hard” to protect Clinton.

Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of State has dogged her campaign since early last year. In July, Comey recommended against criminal prosecution after a months-long investigation, but rebuked Clinton and her aides for being careless with classified material.

Justice Department officials who were advised of the FBI’s intention to notify Congress about the discovery expressed concern that the action would be inconsistent with department protocols designed to avoid the appearance of interference in an election.

In an apparent departure from the wishes of top Justice Department leaders, Comey acted independently when he sent several members of Congress a letter about the emails on Friday, said one of the officials.

The move creates the potential for a divide between the Justice Department and Comey, who has served in government under both Democratic and Republican presidents.

It was not immediately clear what the emails were about or what significance, if any, they carried to the email investigation. Nor was it clear when agents would be able to fully review the recovered emails, and Comey made no guarantees that would happen before Election Day.

Abedin and Weiner separated this year after Weiner was caught in 2011, 2013 and again this year sending numerous woman sexually explicit text messages and photographs of himself undressed. Federal authorities in New York and North Carolina are investigating online communications between Weiner and a 15-year-old girl.