In an interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo on Thursday, John Podesta accused the FBI of partisanship and said that the majority of employees in the bureau do not like Hillary Clinton.



"Let me ask you something, do you think there was an equal or greater population in the bureau that didn't like Clinton?" Cuomo inquired.



"I absolutely think that's true," Podesta responded.











He also said Comey protected his reputation at the cost of protecting the country.



"I just think he made a horrendous error of judgment and he did, I think, because he's kind of an arrogant guy who was trying to protect his own reputation," Podesta said of the former FBI director. "I think he was protecting his reputation, the FBI's reputation, but in doing so, he wasn't protecting the country."



Transcript, via CNN:





CHRIS CUOMO, CNN: Good to have you, sir.



JOHN PODESTA, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: Good to be with you, Chris.



CUOMO: All right. Let's talk about this I.G. report. It seems it's being viewed largely through a partisan lens. But what is the headline for you and what you saw?



PODESTA: Well, look, you tried to say there were good facts and bad facts. I only see one set of facts. And the facts are that Jim Comey violated practice and procedure. He applied a double standard with respect to the investigation of Hillary Clinton versus the investigation of Russian interference in the election, and its connection to the Trump campaign. You know, he ended up hurting Hillary Clinton. He helped elect Donald Trump.



There's 560 gory pages of detail of that in the I.G.'s report, but that's the facts. And, you know, people try to spin one e-mail or a bunch of e-mails one way or the other, but those are the fundamental facts of what happened last July and last October.



CUOMO: But you're leaving one out, though.



PODESTA: And that's what Mr. Horowitz said.



CUOMO: You're leaving something out, though, John, which is the motivation that Comey had for what he did, believe him or not. He says Loretta Lynch, I had my doubts. I had my doubts about her meeting with Clinton on the tarmac, not really wanting to be as aggressive, trying to mess with my language.



I pushed for a special counsel. I had my doubts that this would be handled fairly, and that's why I had to come forward and make sure that there was real transparency here. That motivation is a little upsetting as well. Is it not?



PODESTA: And Chris, the I.G., you know, take him at his word, completely rejected that. He said these are the moment where you have to follow policy.



CUOMO: But he never said he didn't have basis for suspicion. He said how Comey handled it was wrong.



PODESTA: Well, that's the big enchilada, Chris. He said that whatever he felt the appropriate way to proceed was to follow longstanding Republican and Democratic administration's policy and procedure. Instead, he applied ad hoc decision making.



I never accused him of being a partisan in that regard. I just think he made a horrendous error of judgment and he did, I think, because he's kind of an arrogant guy who was trying to protect his own reputation, getting pushed by the New York field office who was leaking details about the investigation and getting pushed by Republicans on Capitol Hill.



I think he was protecting his reputation, the FBI's reputation, but in doing so, he wasn't protecting the country.



CUOMO: The big stick that Republicans and certainly Trump sympathizers are swinging is, look at those texts of at least five different agents/attorneys, you know, staff members. Look how much they didn't like Trump.



Let me ask you something, do you think there was an equal or greater population in the bureau that didn't like Clinton?



PODESTA: I absolutely think that's true. And I think that one of the things I heard from people who attended the House briefing today is that the matter of who was leaking out of the FBI field office, you know, Rudy Giuliani kept going on television saying I've heard from my sources in the FBI, da, da, da -- that investigation is still ongoing with the inspector general. So, we'll see where it lands at the end of the day.



But, you know, the truth is, the facts are that he only hurt one candidate by reopening and then rapidly saying there was nothing there and closing --



CUOMO: Right.



PODESTA: -- the e-mail investigation on October 28th, ten days before the election, he absolutely damaged Hillary Clinton. He kept under wraps the fact that he had opened an investigation of the Russian engagement and the Russian involvement with the Trump campaign. That didn't come out until after the election.



He says he did that because that was consistent with policy and practice, but why the double standard, Chris? I think he's never really sufficiently answered that.

CUOMO: Look, no, I get that's something that's going to be chewed over here. He's got his answers. But you also have look in terms of the political liability here and where blame lies. You got to look at Hillary Clinton as well. Do you not, John?



I mean, the tweet that she put out today: But my e-mails.



Now, this is a reference to the fact that the I.G. found that Comey was also using a personal Gmail account. He didn't have his own server, but this tactic by Hillary Clinton of taking a shot at them -- do you think that was the right move for her --



PODESTA: Oh, look --



CUOMO: -- given that decisions she made and didn't make got her in this situation in the first place?



PODESTA: Look, she shouldn't have used a private e-mail system. I think she's said that. She obviously paid an enormous price for doing so. I think it was an innocent --



CUOMO: Having people destroy the devices and, you know, not exactly complying the way that she --



(CROSSTALK)



PODESTA: No, come on. You want to relitigate the 2016?



CUOMO: No, but I just want to put it out there as an element of people's scrutiny.

Podesta accused Cuomo of trying to relitigate the 2016 election when he contrasted Hillary Clinton's tweet today calling out Comey for his use of a private Gmail e-mail account with her private e-mail server and the destruction of electronic devices."You want to relitigate the 2016?" Podesta asked."No, but I just want to put it out there as an element of people's scrutiny," Cuomo responded.