The White House stood by FBI Director James Comey on Monday as a man of 'integrity' and 'principle' in the face of a Democrat-led assault on his character and intentions.

Press Secretary Josh Earnest would neither 'defend nor criticize' the letter Comey sent to Congress on Friday.

But the senior White House official said the president does not believe that the Republican law enforcement official is looking to 'intentionally influence the outcome' of the presidential election, despite Hillary Clinton's and Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid's claims that he is.

'The president’s assessment of his integrity and his character has not changed,' Earnest said at his daily briefing. 'The president doesn’t believe he’s secretly strategizing to benefit one candidate or one political party.'

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The White House stood by FBI Director James Comey on Monday as a man of 'integrity' and 'principle' in the face of a Democrat-led assault on his character and intentions

The senior White House official said the president does not believe that the Republican law enforcement official is looking to 'intentionally influence the outcome' of the presidential election, despite Hillary Clinton's and Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid's claims that he is

The move is a stark contrast to Clinton's all-out attack on the FBI.

It began when she said at a Saturday rally that Comey's letter to Congress revealing new messages that could be 'pertinent' to her email case is both 'strange' and 'deeply troubling.'

Her campaign chairman, John Podesta, told reporters, 'By providing selective information, he has allowed partisans to distort and exaggerate to inflict maximum political damage.'

She was then backed up by Reid who accused Comey of violating the Hatch Act, which explicitly blocks most executive branch employees from engaging in political activity.

'Through your partisan actions, you may have broken the law,' Reid told Comey in a letter.

Clinton continued that attack in Ohio on Monday.

The White House directed questions about the Hatch Act to the Office of Independent Counsel today as it walked a fine line between backing Comey and undercutting Democrats, including his preferred successor, who say the FBI director acted out of turn.

'These are tough questions, so it's a good thing that he's a man of integrity and character,' Earnest told reporters, saying that Comey is in a 'tough spot.'

Earnest was careful not to chastise Comey for the letter while implying that the building disagreed with the move that created panic within the president's party.

'I guess it's fair to say that since we didn't know about it in advance that we were surprised,' he told a reporter, 'particularly when you consider the kind of longstanding tradition that's been observed by investigations and prosecutors in our democracy for a long time. '

The White House official was eager to deride lawmakers for sharing the information, though, commenting that the behavior he's seen is a 'pretty clear indication that Congress is not at all impartial.'

Republican legislators' actions are indicative of 'the kind of risk that's associated with communicating to them sensitive information,' he said.

'There's one senior Republican official... who let it slip that his party was considering impeaching President Clinton even before she's been elected, if she's elected,' he proclaimed.

Earnest appeared to be referring to Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks, who said earlier this month that Clinton could be impeached on her first day in office for committing high crimes.

The Obama spokesman went on to say that the president continues to have confidence in Comey's ability to do his job, regardless of the criticism he's receiving from other Democrats.

'The president thinks very highly of Director Comey,' he stated, restating the Oval Office occupant's belief that the FBI head is not meddling in the election.

Earnest also maintained that he had no prior knowledge that Comey planned to contact Congress because the White House has no involvement in the investigation.

'The White House is going to be scrupulous about avoiding even the appearance of interference,' he stated.