FBI Director James Comey vowed Wednesday that the government’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email system would not be impacted by politics, Politico reported.
He said he was carefully monitoring the probe to ensure that "no outside influence" affected the case.
"I love the FBI because we aspire to, and I think we are, three things: We're honest; we're competent; we're independent," Comey told audience members at Kenyon College in Ohio, according to Politico.
"I've stayed close to that investigation to ensure that it's done that way. That we have the resources, the technology, the people and that there's no outside influence. So, if I talk about an investigation while it's going on there's a risk that I'll compromise both the reality and the perception that it's done honestly, competently and independently. So, I'm going to say no comment to that."
Recent reports have said that FBI officials are preparing to question top aides from Clinton’s duration as secretary of state in its ongoing probe into the potential mishandling of classified information on an unsecured email server. Federal officials are planning to interview Clinton as well.
Earlier this year, former House Oversight Committee chairman Darrell Issa (R, Calif.) told the Washington Examiner that Comey wanted to indict Clinton and her long-time aide Huma Abedin for sending and receiving sensitive information through a private email system.
"I think he's in a position where he's being forced to triple-time make a case of what would otherwise be, what they call, a slam dunk," Issa said in January. "You can't have 1,300 highly sensitive emails that contain highly sensitive material that's taken all, or in part from classified documents, and have it be an accident."
Government officials found that more than 2,000 emails on Clinton’s server contain classified information though none was marked classified on her personal email. Twenty-two messages have been judged "top secret," the highest classification level, and were withheld from public release.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R, Iowa) noted during a hearing with Comey in December 2015 that regardless of what the FBI ultimately finds, a Justice Department official who was appointed by a Democrat would make the final decision on whether to prosecute Clinton.
Comey vowed then that the investigation was independent though he would not confirm whether the agency would release details of the probe once all ends are tied.