Jim Comey’s Wife Tried to Stop Hillary Clinton Email Announcement

• Patricia Comey, the spouse of former FBI director James Comey, tried to cease him from making his shock October 2016 announcement about reopening an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s e mail server, she told New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt.
• Comey’s announcement, days earlier than Election Day in 2016, broken Clinton’s candidacy, analysts have mentioned.
• “You cannot do that this shut to the election. You cannot do that to a candidate,” she told her husband, in accordance to Schmidt.
• “I’m screwed it doesn’t matter what occurs. If I disclose this, I’m screwed. If I do not disclose this, I’m screwed,” the FBI director informed her.
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On October 28, 2016, James Comey made an announcement that shook the 2016 election: The FBI was reopening its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s personal e mail server.

It did not matter that, on November 6, Comey said the Democratic presidential nominee was in the clear. Following the election, on November 8, his choice was widely blamed as a chief reason she misplaced her run for president. And since then, the now-former FBI director has been reviled by Democrats who imagine he handed the presidential election to Donald Trump.

Patrice Comey, his spouse, was one of many individuals who tried to cease it. She informed New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt about her conversations along with her husband for his guide “Donald Trump v. The United States,” excerpted by NBC News on Wednesday.

“You cannot do that this shut to the election. You cannot do that to a candidate,” she informed her husband, in accordance to Schmidt.

For its investigation, the FBI wanted to get a warrant for the laptop computer of Anthony Weiner, the husband of Clinton aide Huma Abedin. To get that warrant, James Comey informed his spouse, he wanted to notify Congress. If not, it could seem like the FBI hid components of the investigation from the Republican-dominated legislative physique after pledging transparency.

“What is our relationship with Congress if we’re going to lie to them and never say one thing?” he requested, in accordance to Schmidt.

Comey additionally informed his spouse that he did not imagine he had a alternative within the matter, she mentioned.

“The different is a f—ing catastrophe,” he mentioned, in accordance to Schmidt, including: “I’m screwed it doesn’t matter what occurs. If I disclose this, I’m screwed. If I do not disclose this, I’m screwed. And so it is liberating in a means.”

The FBI did not instantly reply to Insider’s request for touch upon Wednesday.

In his 2018 guide “A Higher Loyalty,” Comey defended his choice to inform Congress concerning the choice to reopen the Clinton investigation however said he regretted not clarifying the circumstances to the public at the time. A consultant for Comey did not instantly reply to Insider’s request for remark.

Jim Comey did not vote within the 2016 election, believing that doing so can be incompatible together with his position as FBI director. Patrice Comey solid her poll for Clinton, having “waited a long time to vote for a girl presidential candidate” and believing “Trump was an existential risk and mustn’t ever sit within the Oval Office,” Schmidt wrote.

“Donald Trump v. The United States: Inside the Struggle to Stop a President” was printed in September.