Harry Reid said he made a mistake by confirming James Comey as FBI director. | AP Photo Reid: Comey caused most damage to FBI since J. Edgar Hoover

Harry Reid said that FBI Director James Comey has “put a black mark on the FBI that will never go away,” comparing him unfavorably to the divisive former FBI leader J. Edgar Hoover.

In an interview with POLITICO, the Senate minority leader criticized Comey repeatedly for taking “new investigative steps” in researching Hillary Clinton’s emails, then backing off two days before the election. The Nevada Democrat would not call on Comey to resign, declaring that because Reid is retiring he will “let some of my other colleagues say that.”


“Comey has done more damage to the FBI than anyone since J. Edgar Hoover. I think he has personally put a black mark on the FBI that will never go away,” Reid said. “I made a mistake [confirming him]. Because I didn’t know he was such a Republican.”

The FBI declined to respond.

Reid’s criticism of Comey is no surprise given that he accused the FBI of withholding information about Russian interference in the election on behalf of Donald Trump. But it shows that Democrats are still rankled that Comey raised the specter of wrongdoing 10 days before the election, only to clear Clinton again less than 48 hours before voters go to the polls.

Reid demurred on whether Comey can survive pointed questions from members of both parties about his public pronouncements on Clinton and her private email server so close to the election. The retiring Nevadan said he is considering making a speech about Comey after the election.

“I don’t know if I’m going to say anything about him or not. Probably I won't,” Reid shrugged. “I think the FBI is just so damaged.”

On Sunday evening, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) reiterated his desire to see Comey resign over the flap and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) said Comey has "gotta go." But few others in either party were taking such a strong stance ahead of the election.

“I’m troubled by this whole affair,” said Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) on Monday. “If he says that there’s nothing there to move to an indictment you want to trust that. But the way this happened raises serious questions relative to the DOJ and the FBI."

Perdue said he doesn’t “have an opinion” about whether Comey will remain as FBI director and deferred to whoever wins the election on Tuesday. Still, senior Democrats like Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said Comey's actions hurt Clinton politically and helped Trump’s.

“The October surprise that came only 11 days before Election Day has unfairly hurt the campaign of one candidate and changed the tenor of this election,” Feinstein said in a statement. Sunday’s “letter makes Director Comey’s actions nine days ago even more troubling. There’s no doubt that it created a false impression about the nature of the agency’s inquiry.”

Lawmakers in both parties are predicting months of congressional investigations into how Comey’s two announcements came together in the heat of campaign season. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), in a statement Sunday, criticized Comey's "vague announcement" and said the "growing number of unanswered questions demand explanations."

