“In claiming to stand outside politics, Mr. Comey has instead created the hottest political football of the 2016 election," The New York Times editorial board writes. | AP Photo NYT chastises Comey's 'breathtakingly rash and irresponsible' decision

The editorial board of The New York Times piled on FBI Director James Comey late Monday night, slamming his decision to inform Congress that the bureau was examining additional information related to Hillary Clinton’s long-running email scandal and writing that “his logic makes even less sense than it did on Friday."

Comey’s disclosure to Congress, via what the Times referred to as a “a brief, inscrutable, election-shaking letter,” has indeed reset the presidential election’s narrative with just a week to go. Clinton, seemingly coasting a week ago as she dedicated more time to down-ballot Democrats, has been forced back onto her heels as Donald Trump’s campaign goes on offense for the first time in weeks.


That Comey made the announcement so close to Election Day went against Justice Department policy, which directs employees to time major announcements in such a way as to avoid influencing elections. The Times wrote that Comey’s “breathtakingly rash and irresponsible decision” has put the FBI and Department of Justice in the position of having to rush through the investigation of the additional emails in an effort to finish before Election Day.

“This is not how federal investigations are conducted,” the editorial reads. “In claiming to stand outside politics, Mr. Comey has instead created the hottest political football of the 2016 election.”

The Times noted that it was not alone in criticizing Comey. It cited two former attorneys general, Democrat Eric Holder and Republican Alberto Gonzalez, who were both harshly critical of the FBI director’s decision, as well as a top ethics lawyer for former President George W. Bush who said Comey had “very likely” violated the law with his announcement.

“In an election that has featured the obliteration of one long-accepted political or social norm after another, it is sadly fitting that one of the final and perhaps most consequential acts was to undermine the American people’s trust in the nation’s top law enforcement agencies,” the Times wrote.