FBI Corrects Comey's Testimony — Huma Abedin Only Forwarded Anthony Weiner Two Classified Emails
Last Wednesday, FBI Director James Comey sat before the Senate Judiciary Committee to face angry questioning from both Democrats and Republicans. Comey made a few startling revelations, and now it appears that one of them isn't true.
Comey Testified That Huma Abedin Regularly Forwarded Work Emails To Then-Husband Anthony Weiner
According to Comey, Abedin forwarded thousands of emails to her husband for him to print out for her, including some classified emails, which is why the FBI found Clinton-related emails in the course of their Weiner investigation. But Comey also said Abedin had no criminal intent in forwarding those emails.
"Somehow, her emails were being forwarded to Anthony Weiner, including classified information," Comey said, adding later, "His then-spouse Huma Abedin appears to have had a regular practice of forwarding emails to him for him to print out for her so she could deliver them to the secretary of state."
The two were investigated for possible mishandling of classified material, but the FBI ultimately dropped the matter without seeking charges because they could not show either of them intended to violate the law, Comey said.
Now It Appears That Comey's Claim That Abedin Forwarded Thousands Of Emails To Weiner May Be False
In the process of reporting a story on Clinton's emails, ProPublica questioned Comey's testimony. Sources reportedly revealed to the publication that Comey's account of Abedin sending Weiner emails was false, and they are now trying to figure out how to roll back Comey's statements.
According to two sources familiar with the matter — including one in law enforcement — Abedin forwarded only a handful of Clinton emails to her husband for printing — not the "hundreds and thousands" cited by Comey. It does not appear Abedin made "a regular practice" of doing so. Other officials said it was likely that most of the emails got onto the computer as a result of backups of her Blackberry.
Update: In A Letter Released Tuesday, The FBI Says Abedin Only Manually Forwarded Weiner Two Classified Emails
On Tuesday afternoon, the FBI sent a letter to Congress clarifying the record. While thousands of Huma's emails were automatically backed up to Weiner's computer, only two were manually forwarded by Abedin contained classified information.
Here's What You Need To Know About The Rest Of Comey's Testimony
Republicans asked Comey why he hadn't charged anyone with a crime in connection with the Clinton investigation. Committee chairman Chuck Grassley also suggested that allegations of collusion between Trump's campaign and the Russian government were "a partisan smear campaign that manipulated our government into chasing conspiracy theories." Republicans also questioned whether Comey had ever leaked classified information about its investigation into the Trump-Russia connection to the press.
Comey Denied He's Ever Leaked Classified Information To Political Journalists
"Never," Comey said when committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley asked him if he'd "ever been an anonymous source in news reports in matters relating to the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation."
Grassley then asked if Comey had ever authorized anyone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source on these topics, and he said "no." When asked if any classified information "relating to President Trump or his associates" had been declassified and shared with journalists, Comey said, "Not to my knowledge."
[Time]
But He Said That Journalists Who Publish Leaked Information Aren't Violating The Law (Except Wikileaks)
Republican Senator Ben Sasse asked whether journalists break the law when they solicit classified information from anonymous sources within the FBI, and Comey said no.
"That conduct is not treated by the US government as criminal conduct," Comey explained. "In my lifetime, the Department of Justice's view has been newsgathering and legitimate news coverage is not covered and is not going to be investigated or prosecuted as a criminal act."
"Our focus is and should be on the leakers and not those that are obtaining (classified information) as part of legitimate newsgathering," Comey added.
[CNN]
Comey made an exception for WikiLeaks, which the Justice Department is reportedly preparing criminal charges against.
Asked about WikiLeaks, Comey said he thought the anti-secrecy group was engaged in something more sinister than journalism.
"To my mind, it crosses a line when it moves from being trying to educate the public and instead becomes about intelligence porn, quite frankly," said Comey. A "huge portion" of WikiLeaks' activities "has nothing to do with legitimate news activity," he said, "… but is simply about releasing classified information to damage the United States of America."
Democrats pressed Comey on why he sent a letter to Congress on October 28 stating that the FBI had uncovered new emails related to Hillary Clinton's private server in the course of a separate investigation of Anthony Weiner. According to an analysis published today by FiveThirtyEight, Comey's letter almost certainly influenced the outcome of the election.
Comey Said He's 'Mildly Nauseous' About The Idea That He May Have Influenced The Election
Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein asked Comey why he treated the Clinton email investigation and the Trump-Russia investigation in a "dramatically different" way, publicizing the former but not the latter. Comey denied that he'd acted inconsistently.
"It makes me mildly nauseous to think that we might have had some impact on the election, but honestly, it wouldn't change the decision," Comey said in his testimony, which was scheduled as part of an annual oversight hearing.
[ABC]
Comey continued to insist that he'd done the right thing by disclosing the reopened investigation into Clinton's emails less than two weeks before Election Day.
"It was a hard choice, I still believe in retrospect the right choice," Comey told senators at a judiciary committee hearing on oversight of his agency. "I can't consider for a second whose political fortunes will be affected."
[CNN]
He Warned That Russia Continues To Pose A Threat To American Democracy
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) asked Comey what threat Russia posed to future U.S. elections. "In my view the greatest threat of any nation on earth given their intention and their capability,'' Comey answered, adding that while Russia did not alter vote tallies in 2016, they have tried to do so in other countries and he said U.S. officials should expect them to try to do so in future U.S. elections.
However, Comey declined to say more about Russia's role in the 2016 election, including whether there was any direct contact between Trump associates and Russian operatives.
"We are not going to say another peep about it until we are done," Mr. Comey said, acknowledging that the inquiry into Russian meddling is ongoing.
