SEATTLE — FBI Director James Comey says an agent impersonated an Associated Press reporter during a 2007 criminal investigation, a ruse the news organization says could undermine its credibility.

In a letter Thursday to The New York Times, Comey said the agent “portrayed himself as an employee of The Associated Press” to help catch a 15-year-old suspect who had been making bomb threats at a high school near Olympia, Washington.

Comey said the agent posing as an AP reporter asked the suspect to review a fake AP article about threats. The suspect clicked on a link, revealing his computer’s location and Internet address, helping agents confirm his identity.

AP Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll says the FBI’s actions are “unacceptable” and “undermine AP and the vital distinction between the government and the press.”

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