Gregory Korte

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The White House professed its neutrality Monday in the growing debate over FBI Director James Comey's decision to notify Congress that he had resumed the agency's investigation into former secretary of State Hillary Clinton's emails.

"I’ll neither defend nor criticize what Director Comey has decided to communicate to the public about his decision," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters after speaking to Obama about the issue. He described Obama as "pretty even-keeled" about the news, even in the midst of his aggressive campaign schedule on Clinton's behalf.

Earnest's statement came amid growing criticism of Comey's handling of the investigation, both from Democrats and even some Republicans.

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"Director Comey is a man of integrity, he's a man of principle, and he's a man of good character," Earnest said. "He's in a tough spot. And he's the one who will be in a position to defend his actions in the face of significant criticism."

The FBI does not usually notify Congress about pending investigations. But in a letter to congressional committees Friday, Comey said he felt obliged to do so because he had previously testified that the investigation had been completed.

Justice Department officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have said the FBI discovered Clinton emails on a computer co-owned by Clinton aide Huma Abedin and her now-estranged husband, former congressman Anthony Weiner. The FBI is investigating Weiner's communications with an underage girl.

The Democratic presidential nominee's emails have been a campaign issue since The New York Times reported that she used a private email server to send and receive official emails, many of which turned out to be classified.

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In between the lines of Earnest's non-criticism of Comey, however, were suggestions that the White House isn't entirely happy with how Comey has handled the emails. Comey's July news conference contained "some rather harsh condemnations" of Clinton, and much of his subsequent congressional testimony "provided fodder to Secretary Clinton's critics," Earnest said.

He said Obama believes the FBI director's substantial authority to conduct investigations should be "tempered by an adherence to longstanding tradition and practice and norms that limit public discussion of facts that are collected in the context of those investigations."

But Earnest also said President Obama does not believe that Comey intended to influence the election, or that he was "secretly strategizing" to benefit Clinton's opponent, Donald Trump. That would suggest that Obama does not believe Comey violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from using their office to intentionally influence an election, and which would give Obama grounds to remove Comey from office.

Obama nominated Comey as FBI director in 2013.

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