“There are at least forces within the FBI that wanted her to lose,” John Podesta said during an interview with John Heilemann hosted by NewCo. | AP Podesta: 'Forces within the FBI' may have cost Clinton election

Former Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said Monday that “forces within the FBI” may have sought to elect Donald Trump as president.

“There are at least forces within the FBI that wanted her to lose,” Podesta said during an interview with John Heilemann hosted by NewCo. Podesta offered no evidence to back-up his speculation. “I’m not sure they really understood the alternative, but they wanted her to lose. I think that’s one possibility.”


These “forces” could have played a role in FBI Director James Comey’s controversial decision to alert Congress 11 days before the election that the FBI was evaluating more of Clinton’s emails, Podesta said.

The Clinton campaign has long pointed to Comey’s letter as a turning-point in the election which may have caused their electoral college defeat.

He also said pressure from underneath Comey may have pushed him to send the letter.

“He made a bad judgment, and I think virtually anybody who has opined on the topic…. have said it was a terrible mistake of judgment,” Podesta said. “And I think it did terrible damage to us. If you look at the polling at that period time, that’s when the race began to tighten in that week.”

The FBI declined to comment.

