Recapping his Sunday night interview with former FBI Director James Comey on Monday’s Good Morning America, ABC anchor and former Clinton White House political operative George Stephanopoulos complained that the ex-Bureau chief’s decision to re-open the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation in October of 2016 cost the Democrat the election.
In a report at the top of the morning show, Stephanopoulos highlighted how he grilled Comey about the Clinton investigation: “Comey explains his thinking on the October surprise that Hillary Clinton believes cost her the White House. Why did he reveal he was re-opening the Clinton e-mail investigation?”
The host fretted: “You could try to find out first whether or not they were, indeed, relevant. Whether there was evidence there of a crime.” Comey replied: “My view is that would be a potentially deeply irresponsible and dangerous thing to do.” Stephanopoulos pleaded: “But we don’t know what’s in it.” Comey explained: “We know there are hundreds of thousands of Hillary Clinton’s e-mails there, that’s an affirmative act of concealment.”
Stephanopoulos then ominously told viewers: “What the public doesn’t know at the time is that the FBI is actively investigating the Trump campaign, and whether members were working with the Russians to influence the election.”
Turning back to Comey, the anchor scolded: “Your critics say this is a clear, clear, clear double standard. You revealed information about Hillary Clinton. You concealed information about Donald Trump. That elected Donald Trump.”
Even though Comey spent much of the hour-long interview personally attacking President Trump, even he admitted that it would have been “brutally unfair” to say anything about the investigation into the Trump campaign at the time because “we were not investigating Donald Trump” and “We had just started the investigation, didn’t know whether we had anything.”
During the ABC News special Sunday night, Stephanopoulos also bemoaned: “And as this heated campaign goes down to the wire, Comey closes the Clinton investigation for a second time. But to the Clinton campaign, the damage has been done.”
Sympathizing with Clinton, Stephanopoulos pressed Comey: “If she were sitting right here today, what would you tell her?” Comey objected to Clinton’s assertion in her book that he “shivved” her: “I mean, that sounds like I was trying to knife somebody, I was out to get her.”
Stephanopoulos followed up: “If you knew that letter would elect Donald Trump, you’d still send it?” Comey assured him: “I would. Down that path lies the death of the FBI as an independent force in American life. If I ever start considering whose political fortunes will be affected by a decision, we’re done.”
While Stephanopoulos interrogated Comey when it came to his treatment of Hillary Clinton, the former Clinton hack had no problem teeing up the former FBI director to repeatedly slam Trump and even allowed him to give a “free political commercial” against the President.
Here is a transcript of the April 16 exchange aired on Monday’s GMA:
7:04 AM ET
(...)
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Comey explains his thinking on the October surprise that Hillary Clinton believes cost her the White House. Why did he reveal he was re-opening the Clinton e-mail investigation?
HILLARY CLINTON: We knew about it is, I assume, when you knew about it.
STEPHANOPOULOS: He says he had no choice after additional e-mails were found on the computer of Anthony Weiner, husband of one of Clinton’s top aides.
You could try to find out first whether or not they were, indeed, relevant. Whether there was evidence there of a crime.
JAMES COMEY: Well, maybe. And maybe another director might have done that. My view is that would be a potentially deeply irresponsible and dangerous thing to do.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But we don’t know what’s in it.
COMEY: We know there are hundreds of thousands of Hillary Clinton’s e-mails there, that’s an affirmative act of concealment.
STEPHANOPOULOS: What the public doesn’t know at the time is that the FBI is actively investigating the Trump campaign, and whether members were working with the Russians to influence the election.
Your critics say this is a clear, clear, clear double standard. You revealed information about Hillary Clinton. You concealed information about Donald Trump. That elected Donald Trump.
COMEY: Take a step back and stare at the two cases and the posture they were in. The Hillary Clinton e-mail case was public and the counterintelligence investigation was trying to figure out whether a small group of people, not Donald Trump, we were not investigating Donald Trump – whether this small group of Americans was coordinating anything with the Russians. We had just started the investigation, didn’t know whether we had anything. So it would have been brutally unfair to those people to talk about it and it would have jeopardized the investigation.
(...)
Here is an excerpt of the exchange aired during the Sunday ABC special:
10:22 PM ET
(...)
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: And as this heated campaign goes down to the wire, Comey closes the Clinton investigation for a second time. But to the Clinton campaign, the damage has been done.
HILLARY CLINTON: If the election had been on October 27th, I’d be your president.
STEPHANOPOULOS: If she were sitting right here today, what would you tell her?
JAMES COMEY: As Hillary Clinton wrote in her book, I “shivved” her? I mean, that sounds like I was trying to knife somebody, I was out to get her. And it’s illustration of our polarization here that you’ve got the Trump camp, which I guess thinks I was trying to save Hillary Clinton. I would hope both camps will read this and, I hope, see a deeply flawed human surrounded by other flawed humans trying to make decisions with an eye, not on politics, but on those higher values.
STEPHANOPOULOS: If you knew that letter would elect Donald Trump, you’d still send it?
COMEY: I would. Down that path lies the death of the FBI as an independent force in American life. If I ever start considering whose political fortunes will be affected by a decision, we’re done. We’re just another player in the tribal battle.
(...)
