Comey: Lynch told me not to call probe of Clinton emails an investigation

Kevin Johnson | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Analyst: Comey Comes Out Swinging Former Assistant DA says Comey came out strongly in defense of his reputation but legal or congressional action against Trump is unlikely. (June 8)

During the course of the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, former FBI director James Comey said he had a troubling exchange with then-attorney general Loretta Lynch.

During a meeting with Lynch, Comey said that the attorney general told him: “Don’t call it that (an investigation). Call it a matter. Just call it a matter.’’

Comey made the comment as part of his Thursday testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Though he disagreed with her, and thought it was becoming increasingly “silly’’ to describe the review as anything less than an investigation, Comey said he remembered thinking at the time, “This isn’t a hill worth dying on.’’

Still, Comey said the direction gave the “impression’’ that the government was aligning its work with the Clinton campaign.

“It gave me a queasy feeling,’’ he said.

Comey announced last July that the FBI had completed its investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server during her time as secretary of State. Though he called Clinton's handling of classified information "extremely careless," he said the FBI would not be recommending charges against Clinton.

Comey shed more insight into his decisions in Thursday's testimony. Following Lynch's encounter with former president Bill Clinton on an airplane, he considered calling for a special counsel, he said, but decided against it.

"I knew there was no case there, and calling for the appointment of a special counsel would be brutally unfair, because people would say ‘Aha, there’s something there'," he said.

When asked why a special counsel couldn’t make that determination that there was indeed nothing there, Comey noted that announcement would be "many months later, a year later."

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