In her first live TV appearance for her book tour, Hillary Clinton tried to make sense of “What Happened” during the 2016 presidential election that caused her to lose, and said former FBI Director James Comey carries some of the blame.
“I feel very strongly that he went way beyond his role in doing what he did,” she said to Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie on NBC’s “Today Show,” of Comey’s decision to bring up her email server again in late October of last year.
Clinton told the hosts that his intervention played a major role in ultimately costing her the election.
“I think the determining factor was the intervention by Comey on October 28,” she said. “It stopped my momentum, it drove voters from me, who understandably this is not about the voters, who were saying ‘Well, wait what does this mean and how do I evaluate it?’ And so I think that in terms of my personal defeat was the most important factor.”
“I was just dumbfounded,” by Comey’s actions, the former Democratic candidate added, claiming he “went way beyond his role.”
Clinton made similar comments in her book, “What Happened. “Comey made a choice to excoriate me in public in July and then dramatically reopen the investigation on October 28, all while refusing to say a word about Trump and Russia,” Clinton wrote. “If not for those decisions, everything would have been different. Comey himself later said he was ‘mildly nauseous’ at the idea that he influenced the outcome of the election. Hearing that made me sick.”
Comey isn’t the only one that Clinton comes for in her new memoir — her primary opponent Bernie Sanders is another one she finds ink to rib; so is Matt Lauer. She criticized his questioning of her during NBC’s “Commander in Chief” forum last year, where he, too, brought up those emails.
“Lauer had turned what should have been a serious discussion into a pointless ambush,” she wrote. “What a waste of time. I can’t say I didn’t fantasize about shaking some sense into Lauer while I was out there.”
Lauer brought up the criticism in the spirit of “full disclosure,” but hinted at previous criticisms toward the former secretary of state in an interview question about her candor in the book. “People saying you’ve taken your political straitjacket,” he said.
Clinton said that her book acted as both a “historic document” and a “literary version of a cleanse.”
“What Happened” is available for purchase now.
James Comey Timeline: Events That Led to FBI Director's Firing (Photos)
For the first time since 1993, a U.S. president has fired a director of the FBI. Comey's final year as head of the Bureau before his dismissal Tuesday was wrought with controversy, as Democrats and Republicans alike criticized him for his handling of the FBI's investigations into Hillary Clinton's emails and possible connections between Donald Trump's campaign and Russia. Here's how we got to this point:
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July 2013: Disgraced former NY Congressman Anthony Weiner sees his campaign for New York mayor derailed when screenshots of explicit conversations between him and several women are leaked. His wife, Huma Abedin, who was deputy chief of staff to Hillary Clinton while she was Secretary of State, stands by him.
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September 2013: President Barack Obama appoints James Comey as FBI Director. Comey served as U.S. Deputy Attorney General from 2003-2005 and had worked in the intervening years at Lockheed Martin and HSBC, among other private sector jobs.
April 2015: Hillary Clinton announces her campaign for the president just weeks after The New York Times reported that she used a personal email server as Secretary of State. Abedin is named vice-chairwoman of her campaign.
July 2016: After investigating Clinton's emails, Comey announces that the FBI does not recommend charging Clinton in connection to the personal server. Two days later, Comey is questioned by a Republican-led House Committee about his recommendation.
August 2016: Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin announce their separation after reports surface that Weiner had sent explicit text messages to another woman.
September 2016: Reports surface that Weiner had sent illicit text messages to a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina, prompting a federal investigation. During the investigation, authorities seize a laptop belonging to Weiner and Abedin.
Oct. 28, 2016: Comey sends a letter to Congress informing members that Abedin's laptop may contain emails linked to the Clinton investigation. Clinton calls on the FBI to release all the information they have.
Nov. 6, 2016: Comey writes another letter saying that nothing new was found on Abedin's laptop, with Newsweek reporting that most of the emails found were ones forwarded by Abedin so she could print them. Two days after Comey sends the second letter, Hillary Clinton loses the presidential election to Donald Trump.
March 2017: Comey reveals during a House Intelligence Committee hearing that the FBI is performing an investigation into possible connections between the Kremlin and members of Trump's campaign.
May 3, 2017: Comey testifies in Congress again, this time before a Senate Committee about the details of the FBI's investigation into Clinton's email server. He says that Abedin had forwarded "forwarded hundreds and thousands of emails, some of which contain classified information" to Weiner to print out of convenience.
May 9, 2017: ProPublica and the Associated Press report that Comey had exaggerated the number of emails found in the laptop and that none of the emails were classified when sent. Later that day, Comey is fired from his position by Donald Trump.
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Comey’s four-year tenure as FBI director ends 10 months after recommending Hillary Clinton not be charged for his email investigation
For the first time since 1993, a U.S. president has fired a director of the FBI. Comey's final year as head of the Bureau before his dismissal Tuesday was wrought with controversy, as Democrats and Republicans alike criticized him for his handling of the FBI's investigations into Hillary Clinton's emails and possible connections between Donald Trump's campaign and Russia. Here's how we got to this point:
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