FBI director: Hero or villain?

FBI Director James Comey

WASHINGTON – Is FBI Director James Comey a hero or a villain?

The question is the subject of intense debate in Washington right now, with Democrats such as Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., suggesting Comey may even be a criminal, if he violated the Hatch Act prohibiting government employees from influencing elections.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had called Comey “a disgusting example” of the “rigged system” three months ago, but on Monday lauded the FBI director for having “a lot of guts” in doing “the right thing,” which “brought back his reputation.”

Sen. Harry Reid, R-Nev.

But Comey isn’t entirely back in all Republicans’ good graces, as exemplified when former Rep. Michele Bachamann told WND, “Even Comey couldn’t cover up the facts. Too many investigators knew the truth.”

Comey was widely perceived as a hero to Democrats and a villain to Republicans in July, when he announced he would not recommend a criminal investigation into Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s email scandal.

Those general perceptions reversed Friday when the FBI director informed Congress he is reopening the investigation, because of new evidence that emerged when the department discovered a reported 650,000 emails on the laptop of Anthony Weiner, estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin.

What do YOU think? Is FBI Director James Comey a hero or villain? Sound off in today’s WND poll

Another possibility may be Comey is neither hero nor villain.

He could be at ground zero of a “series of political bungles,” as asserted in an article in Politico on Sunday by a speechwriter for former Attorney General Eric Holder.

One of the nation’s top legal authorities, former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy, wrote an article titled, “Yes, the fix was in,” in National Review on Sept. 13.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump

But, an article he wrote 11 days later seemed to indicate any fix originated in the Justice Department rather than Comey’s FBI.

McCarthy called it “very strange” that the Justice Department “reportedly gave top Clinton aide and confidant Cheryl Mills immunity from prosecution for any incriminating information located on her personal computer,” because, “In normal cases, the Justice Department does not grant immunity in exchange for evidence when it has lawful power to compel production of that evidence.”

McCarthy concluded, “It appears the Obama Justice Department’s goal was not to make a prosecutable case, but to make it appear that Hillary Clinton was ‘exonerated’ after a thorough FBI investigation.”

So, in an attempt to clarify the FBI director’s role in the Clinton email saga, WND asked McCarthy if Comey was a hero or a “fixer.”

“I don’t think Comey is either a hero or a fixer,” he replied.

But, McCarthy then pointed to where he believed Comey went wrong.

“He made a decision in July to depart from law-enforcement protocols and speak publicly about an investigation in which no charges were brought — including an unheard-of public recommendation against an indictment and pronouncement that the investigation was closed,” said the former federal prosecutor.

Andrew McCarthy

Later on Monday, McCarthy expanded on the theme that Comey made a mistake in going public in a National Review article that explained how the FBI “is not obligated to make recommendations about prosecution at all; its recommendations, if it chooses to make them, are not binding on the Justice Department; and when it does make recommendations, it does so behind closed doors, not on the public record.”

McCarthy explained to WND why he believed it was proper for Comey to make his announcement of the reopening of the case on Friday, even though he disagreed with the FBI director’s decision to go public in July.

“Whatever one thinks of that decision (my own view is that the director should have stuck to protocol), it is standard law-enforcement procedure that when an official makes a representation which becomes inaccurate when new facts emerge, the official is obliged to correct the record.”

In his article on Monday, McCarthy rebutted Democrats’ assertion that Comey’s Friday announcement was inappropriate because it could affect the presidential election.

“The Clinton camp is in no position to cry foul about anything. In announcing his recommendation against indictment, Comey not only gave Clinton the benefit of every doubt (preposterously so when one reads the FBI’s reports)” he wrote.

McCarthy spelled that out in more detail to WND, and why he believed Clinton had no real cause to complain, by explaining, “I’d also point out that Comey did not implicate Mrs. Clinton in any crimes in his letter last week.”

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton

“He simply said the investigation is still pending. That is a fact. Mrs. Clinton had no right to know the status of the investigation back in July, and she has no right to know it now.”

McCarthy put the onus back on Clinton, telling WND, “That’s the risk you run when you engage in egregious misconduct with criminal implications.”

Even though he disagreed with the FBI director’s judgment in making the July announcement, McCarthy noted, “The real problem here is not that Comey has spoken publicly; it is that Democrats chose to nominate someone who clearly merits a very thorough criminal investigation and quite possibly felony charges.”

Bachmann, who has two law degrees, had a more critical take on the FBI director, telling WND, “Sometimes reality is so bad, even FBI director Comey is incapable of covering it up.”

When WND asked Bachmann if Comey was a conspirator in a “fix” or a hero, she replied, “The only heroic acts are those of federal officials who do their job with a steady eye following the Constitution. Comey, (Attorney General Loretta) Lynch, and President Obama all owed a duty to the constitution and took an oath to follow the law and the evidence.”

She noted that Clinton deserved the protection of U.S. law, due process and the presumption of innocence.

But Bachmann maintained, “President Obama threw the investigation when he unequivocally publicly stated Hillary did nothing wrong in her official capacity. How could the president say that? The investigation was still underway.”

“He also said Hillary did not put American national security as risk, when clearly she did. According to FBI director Comey last July, Hillary was both negligent and reckless in handling classified materials,” she added.

Former Rep. Michele Bachmann, R- Minn.

The former congresswoman also scorched the Justice Department, telling WND, “Lynch thought so little of presenting a fair, unbiased review of the evidence, she thoughtlessly met privately with the target’s husband, former President Bill Clinton. This meeting was conducted in a way to deliberately mislead the public that it never happened.”

Instead of merely focusing on Comey, Bachmann saw plenty of blame to go around.

“All these injustices, these hidden things committed in darkness, are now unraveling.”

Bachmann portrayed Comey as having no option but to reopen the investigation.

“How can an FBI director ignore literally tens of thousands of emails stored on Hillary’s chief aide’s husband’s computer? Either Huma Abedin failed to hand over to the FBI all relevant evidence or someone withheld pertinent evidence.”

That’s when the former congresswoman did take direct aim at the FBI director, concluding,”Even Comey couldn’t cover up the facts, too many investigators knew the truth.”

But she also found reason to spread the blame around.

Huma Abedin

Bachmann blamed Clinton for creating her own problems: “That Hillary betrayed America’s most sensitive national security secrets in real time to our enemies on an ongoing basis for four years is now irrefutable.”

Bachmann blamed Clinton’s aide for taking part in a cover-up: “Huma Abedin claimed she wasn’t aware of Mrs. Clinton’s unsecure email server, yet it appears she knew about this unauthorized action from the inception.”

And, Bachmann blamed the commander in chief for being an accessory: “President Obama claims he wasn’t aware of Hillary’s server, yet 18 emails surfaced between the president and Mrs. Clinton. White House security wouldn’t know who the president emails?! Please. Don’t insult our intelligence.”

That’s when she summed up, “Sometimes reality is so bad, even FBI director Comey is incapable of covering it up.”

What do YOU think? Is FBI Director James Comey a hero or villain? Sound off in today’s WND poll

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