Justice Dept. Strongly Discouraged Comey on Move in Clinton Email Case
“There’s a longstanding policy of not doing anything that could influence an election,” said George J. Terwilliger III, a deputy attorney general under President George Bush. “Those guidelines exist for a reason. Sometimes, that makes for hard decisions. But bypassing them has consequences.”
He added, “There’s a difference between being independent and flying solo.”
.. After hearing the Justice Department’s concerns, Mr. Comey concluded that the ramifications of not telling Congress promptly about the new emails far outweighed concerns about the department guidelines, one senior law enforcement official said.
Under Justice Department policy, restated each election cycle, politics should play no role in any investigative decisions. In Democratic and Republican administrations, Justice Department officials have interpreted that policy broadly, to cover any steps that might give even an impression of partisanship.