Story highlights "We don't play games," Comey said

Republican House Speaker had criticized the FBI's handling of the matter

Washington (CNN) FBI Director James Comey is defending the bureau's Friday afternoon release of documents from the Hillary Clinton email investigation, saying "we don't play games" and that the documents were put out when ready.

In a memo to employees Wednesday, Comey said the decision to not recommend charges against the now-Democratic nominee wasn't a close call.

"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," he said in the memo.

In recent weeks, Comey has met with groups of former FBI agents as part of his routine visits to field offices around the country. In at least one recent such meeting, according to people familiar with the meeting, former agents were sharply critical of the FBI's handling of the Clinton probe and particularly the decision to not recommend charges against Clinton. Comey gave the meeting participants a similar answer about the case not being a cliff-hanger.

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