Comey's response to the DOJ report contains 1 massive subtweet

James Comey response to DOJ report.
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

James Comey still doesn't have any regrets.

A Department of Justice review released Thursday slammed the then-FBI director's choice to announce the bureau was reopening its investigation into Hillary Clinton's email server just weeks before the 2016 election. But Comey "respectfully disagrees," per his response in The New York Times.

The DOJ sharply critiques Comey's "serious error of judgment" in the report obtained by The Washington Post, but concludes he didn't defy FBI norms for political reasons. That reaffirms Comey's belief that the Clinton investigation was "done competently, honestly, and independently," he wrote in the Times. He's also glad this independent review happened, he wrote, because it'll lead to better decisions in the future.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Yet even with a scathing report on his shoulders, Comey couldn't resist using his Times response to take a few shots at someone other than himself. He called the lead-up to the 2016 election as rare as a "500-year flood," and concludes that even the inspector general's opinion in this review won't change his mind. And while he and DOJ notably agreed that there was no case against Clinton, "that probably will not stop some from continuing to claim the opposite is true," Comey quipped.

Notably, Comey remained silent on his ironic use of a personal Gmail account for FBI business.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.