While testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, FBI Director James Comey maintained that he did not treat disclosures about investigations into Hillary Clinton's emails and potential connections between the Trump campaign and Russia differently.
Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy said Comey went public just before the election to talk about reopening the Clinton email case but did not reveal the investigation into the Trump campaign.
Comey said both cases were treated consistently. He says he only told lawmakers about the reopening of the Clinton email investigation because he had testified before Congress that the probe had been closed. Comey said that other than revealing the Trump investigation exists, no other information would be discussed until it is closed.
Comey also defended his decision to alert Congress that agents were revisiting the Hillary Clinton email investigation less than two weeks before the November election.
Comey told the committee that he concluded it would have been "catastrophic" to have concealed that development from Congress.
What led the FBI to revisit the investigation was the discovery of thousands of emails on a laptop belonging to the former congressman who was married to a top Clinton aide.
Comey said it made him — in his words — "mildly nauseous" to think he might've had an influence on the 2016 election, as many Democrats believe. But he said politics can't influence the FBI's decision-making.
Comey's comments Wednesday are his most extensive about his actions from October in the email case.
Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.