Congressman DeSaulnier comments on FBI Director Comey’s testimony before Oversight & Government Reform Committee
Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (left) speaks with FBI Director James Comey at the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee hearing on Oversight of the State Department. photo provided courtesy of Office of Representative Mark DeSaulnier
Washington, DC — Today, (Thursday, July 7, 2016) Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (D, CA-11) issued the following statement on FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before the Oversight & Government Reform Committee.
“FBI Director Comey clearly demonstrated that the extensive, 12-month investigation of Secretary Clinton’s emails did not warrant prosecution.
For the Republican presidential nominee, who immediately and outrageously claimed the entire system is rigged, we doubt he is aware that Director Comey was first appointed during the Bush Administration. Today’s hearing assured the country they can, and should, have confidence in public officials, like FBI Director Comey, who put the best interests of America and the U.S. Constitution ahead of partisan politics and self-aggrandizing.
While there is no doubt Director Comey made the only appropriate decision given the facts, the Oversight & Government Reform Committee and Congress need to review lessons learned from Secretaries Powell, Rice and Clinton, and clarify best practices for communications and data security. Moving forward, the rules should be crystal clear to the Secretary of State and every State Department employee.”
According to a news report on Politico.com, “During an extended exchange with Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), Comey affirmed that the FBI’s investigation found information marked classified on her server even after Clinton had said that she had neither sent nor received any items marked classified.
“That is not true,” Comey said. “There were a small number of portion markings on, I think, three of the documents.”
Asked whether Clinton’s testimony that she did not email “any classified material to anyone on my email” and “there is no classified material” was true, Comey responded, “No, there was classified material emailed.”
“Secretary Clinton said she used one device. Was that true?” Gowdy asked, to which Comey answered, “She used multiple devices during the four years of her term as secretary of state.”
Gowdy then asked whether it was true that Clinton, as she said, returned all work-related emails to the State Department.
“No, we found work-related emails, thousands that were not returned,” Comey said.
Attempts to reach DeSaulnier asking for a comment on Comey’s testimony that portions of Secretary Clinton’s previous testimony before his committee were untrue, were unsuccessful.
Allen Payton contributed to this report.
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Congressman DeSaulnier at Oversight and Government Reform Hearing
