FBI Director James Comey reopened the agency's investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails last week because "almost 100" agents threatened to resign before next week's election, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay told Newsmax TV .

"A few weeks ago, almost 100 agents were threatening Comey that they were going to resign — and that kind of pressure is what turned him around," DeLay, 69, the majority leader from 2003 to 2005, said on Tuesday's "The Steve Malzberg Show." "It wasn't Comey or his integrity.

"I know he made a huge mistake when he indicted Clinton — though not indicting her — but now he's trying to turn that around.

"He had to do it now or have all these FBI agents resign," he added. "That would have probably been a bigger story than what Comey did.

"He got the pressure. He got the notice.

"He understood as far as his own job and being able to go forward in his own job and his reputation," DeLay said.

"If 100 FBI agents resigned before the election, he would have been toast."

DeLay — whose new book is "Revival! Revolution! Rebirth!" — said even though Comey announced his findings in July, "those FBI agents didn't stop working.

"It's taken them this long, a few months, to get to this point. They didn't stop working.

"The investigation, he said it was closed, but as far as those FBI agents were concerned, it wasn't closed.

"They were going forward, because they knew that they had to come up with some new information or some new evidence in order to get Comey to open up — particularly when he has this kind of pressure coming from his own agents."

DeLay said the Obama administration now is attacking Comey — Attorney General Loretta Lynch advised him against telling Congress of his intentions — because "we're not going to defend him or deny that he did it.

"But the end of that quote is: 'We're not going to go down with the ship. Hillary, you're on your own!'"

Clinton probably knew what Comey was going to do right after he told Lynch, DeLay told Malzberg.

"We do know that he went to the attorney general — and you don't think the attorney general didn't pick up the phone and call Clinton? Come on."

President Barack Obama?

"Oh absolutely," DeLay said. "They've been talking all along."

He then referenced the June meeting between Lynch and former President Bill Clinton on her private plane at a Phoenix airport. The session lasted 39 minutes.

"That's why Clinton met the attorney general on the tarmac. They've been talking all along," DeLay said. "We just haven't had an opportunity to prove it."

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Looking to next week's election, the former Texas congressman told Malzberg even if Clinton won, "I would start impeachment hearings immediately," if he were still in the House, "whether she's pardoned or not" by the president.

"Absolutely," he added. "You can't have a criminal serving in the White House as president of the United States and commander-in-chief.

"It's impossible. So let's try her in the Senate."