Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated on Wednesday that she regrets not confronting then-FBI Director James Comey more forcefully regarding his actions surrounding the 2016 presidential election. Clinton expressed this sentiment during a discussion on the "High Stakes" podcast with Kara Swisher.
"I wish somebody had told me that I needed to take on Jim Comey," Clinton said. "I needed to really challenge his breach of precedent, his breaking the Justice Department's norms of not interfering in elections, his deliberate, reckless effort to curry favor with the Republicans. I wish I had taken it on in a very forcefully, frontal way. And I didn’t."
Comey, as FBI director, sent a letter to Congress on October 28, 2016, informing lawmakers of the FBI's review of newly discovered emails potentially related to its investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server. Just two days before the election, on November 6, Comey notified Congress that the review had not altered the FBI's earlier conclusion that criminal charges against Clinton were not warranted.
Clinton further elaborated, "Did I want to pick a fight with the director of the FBI? Well, in retrospect, yeah, I did. So, yeah. I wish I had been, you know, really in his face and picked a fight with him in a way."
Swisher agreed with Clinton's assessment, stating, "You have to push back."
"I've been the do-right person for way too long when it comes to, not fighting back, because you know the old assumptions are gone, and you've got to be much more in the mix and aware of, you know, what the real dangers are and speak up and fight back," Clinton added.
This reflection comes as the Justice Department has filed a criminal information against Comey concerning allegations that he willfully communicated national defense information to an unauthorized person in connection with an alleged 2016 disclosure. Federal prosecutors filed the two-count criminal information in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging Comey communicated national defense information and conspired with others to unlawfully disclose it. The Justice Department stated the filing was made to preserve the allegations before the statute of limitations expired, as an investigation remains ongoing.
Comey's attorneys have challenged the filing, arguing that prosecutors cannot proceed without a grand jury indictment. Comey denied wrongdoing in an Instagram post, calling the action an "appalling abuse of the Department of Justice."
In a separate segment of the "High Stakes" podcast, Clinton criticized a video by actor Matthew McConaughey that encouraged voters to consider independent candidates, calling it "unfortunate."