Harry Reid: FBI director may have broken federal law

Sen. Harry Reid.
(Image credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

In a scathing letter sent Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) alerted FBI Director James Comey that due to his "partisan actions," he may have broken the Hatch Act, a law that prohibits federal officials from using their official authority to influence an election.

On Friday, Comey sent a letter to Congress announcing that new emails were found in connection with the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server, and the agency was unable to "assess whether or not this material may be significant." Reid said once Comey "came into possession of the slightest innuendo related to Secretary Clinton, you rushed to publicize it in the most negative light possible," and his "actions in recent months have demonstrated a disturbing double standard for the treatment of sensitive information, with what appears to be a clear intent to aid one political party over another."

Reid went on to accuse Comey of keeping quiet on "explosive information" he has about "close ties and coordination between Donald Trump, his top advisers, and the Russian government — a foreign interest openly hostile to the United States, which Trump praises at every opportunity. The public has the right to know this information.... And yet, you continue to resist calls to inform the public." The FBI has not responded.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.