Sen. Dianne Feinstein called the FBI's actions "appalling." | Getty Democrats turn on Comey after he reopens Clinton email wound Republicans are also rethinking their opinion on the FBI director.

Democrats have soured on James Comey.

In July, they praised the FBI director's decision not to recommend charges against Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state. But on Friday, top party officials turned on Comey — ripping him not only for taking new steps into an investigation they hoped was over, but also for the way he announced them.


Comey sent a letter to several congressional leaders to inform them that the FBI had come across new emails pertinent to its Clinton investigation and would take additional steps to look into them, adding that the FBI did not yet know if the emails were significant and that he did not yet know when the additional review would be finished.

The letter set off a political firestorm. And while Republicans pounced, Democrats fumed.

“Already, we have seen characterizations that the FBI is 'reopening' an investigation but Comey's words do not match that characterization,” Clinton campaign manager John Podesta wrote in a statement. “Director Comey's letter refers to emails that have come to light in an unrelated case, but we have no idea what those emails are and the Director himself notes they may not even be significant.”

Podesta also expressed frustration at the timing of the letter from Comey to lawmakers, informing them of the new evidence. "It is extraordinary that we would see something like this just 11 days out from a presidential election,” he wrote. “The Director owes it to the American people to immediately provide the full details of what he is now examining. We are confident this will not produce any conclusions different from the one the FBI reached in July."

And Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, took perhaps the strongest shot at Comey: "The FBI has a history of extreme caution near Election Day so as not to influence the results. Today’s break from that tradition is appalling."

Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, was also displeased: "Frankly, I was surprised that the FBI sent this letter given how obvious it was that Republicans would immediately misconstrue and mischaracterize it. The FBI Director did explain in his letter that none of this information may even be significant, but that did not stop Republicans from hyperventilating and making wild accusations. I can understand the FBI's concern about being attacked for not keeping Republicans informed of any possible development --no matter how small--but I believe the FBI now has an obligation to make public as much information as possible as soon as possible to eliminate any inaccuracies or confusion about these issues."

But in July, Democrats had warmer things to say about Comey when he decided not to bring charges against Clinton and her staff. Cummings, at a House Oversight Committee hearing in July, lavished praise on Comey in the face of strong criticism from Republicans.

"I don't know whether your family's watching this, but I hope that they are as proud of you as I am, because you are the epitome of what a public servant is all about. Sacrificing over and over and over again, trying to do the right thing, sometimes coming under ridicule, but again still doing the right thing," Cummings said.

Similarly, after Comey announced that he would not call for Clinton to be prosecuted over the secret email server in July, Feinstein praised the director for coming to the "proper" conclusion.

"After months of painstaking work, FBI Director Comey today announced that charges against Secretary Clinton for her use of a private email server would not be appropriate and that ‘no reasonable prosecutor’ would pursue a case," Feinstein said in a statement on July 5. “While Secretary Clinton admitted the private server was a mistake, it’s clear there was no intent to violate laws governing the handling of classified information, so this is the proper conclusion."

But it's not just Democrats who changed their perspective on Comey after his agency's moves Friday. One Donald Trump, perhaps the greatest beneficiary of the decision, seemed to warm to an official who had previously ranked among his favorite foils.

At a rally in July, after Comey did not recommend charges, Trump criticized Comey's decision and told supporters: "We have a rigged system, folks."

But at a rally Friday, the day's news seem to have changed Comey's stance.

"The FBI, I think they’re going to right the ship, and they can save their great reputation by doing so,” Trump told rally attendees in New Hampshire. “It might not be as rigged as I thought."