President Barack Obama has added his voice to the storm of criticism over FBI procedure, after Director James Comey‘s ill-advised announcement that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton may face a fresh investigation of her emails.
Speaking to NowThisNews, Obama presaged his words by insisting he was reluctant to comment on FBI affairs, saying:
“I’ve made a very deliberate effort to make sure that I don’t look like I’m meddling in what are supposed to be independent processes for making these assessments.”
However, he went on to deliver a verdict which was couched in diplomatic language, but can only be seen as a stinging rebuke.
“I do think there is a norm that when there are investigations, we don’t operate on innuendo, we don’t operate on incomplete information, we don’t operate on leaks.”
The president was clearly concerned that Comey’s bombshell statement last week – that irregularities might be found in a fresh batch of Clinton emails that have come to light – was speculative, and unsupported by evidence. Springing to Clinton’s defense, he expressed his full confidence that she will make a great president, and said:
“Hillary Clinton, having been in the arena for 30 years, oftentimes gets knocked around and people say crazy stuff about her. And when she makes a mistake, an honest mistake, it ends up being blown up.”
Critics of the FBI’s actions last week – which even include some Republicans – have expressed suspicions over the timing of Comey’s statement, less than two weeks before the election. It appears to have caused a fall in Clinton’s poll ratings, although this may prove to be no more than a ‘blip.’
You can watch President Obama’s interview with NowThisNews here.
We spoke with President Obama about the FBI's recent investigation into emails related to Hillary Clinton pic.twitter.com/3ivMp2TfVi
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) November 2, 2016
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