FBI Director James Comey made clear Wednesday that there is "no special set of rules" for anyone under investigation by the agency.
Comey made the remark during a roundtable discussion with journalists at FBI headquarters about the ongoing investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server, Politico reported.
"There’s no special set of rules for anybody that the FBI investigates," Comey stated when questioned about complaints from some individuals with security clearances who have alleged that they would be put in prison for acting as Clinton did.
Comey did not provide details about the current status of the investigation into Clinton’s email and described it as "ongoing." According to recent reports, the FBI has interviewed some of Clinton’s former top aides, including Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills, as it nears the end of the probe. FBI investigators are also reportedly hoping to interview Clinton in coming weeks.
Clinton and her presidential campaign have sought to downplay the investigation, describing it as a "security inquiry." However, Comey appeared to dispute that characterization during the discussion with reporters on Wednesday.
"It’s in our name. I’m not familiar with the term ‘security inquiry,’" Comey said, describing the probe as an "investigation."
He did not describe the investigation as criminal, though multiple reports have indicated that the agency is looking into whether classified information was criminally mishandled in the use of Clinton’s private system.
Comey also disclosed that he feels "pressure" to quickly complete the investigation into Clinton’s email but emphasized the agency’s commitment to doing it well.
"We want to do it well and we want to do it promptly. I feel pressure to do both of those things," the FBI director said. "As between the two things, we will always choose ‘well.’"
He also said that he is not bound by "any external deadline" to complete the probe, such as the November presidential election.
Clinton is likely to win the Democratic nomination in the coming weeks, though her campaign has been dogged by reports of the investigation into her email system. Clinton’s server has been found by the government to hold emails containing classified information, though none of the emails were marked classified when sent or received. Clinton has maintained that she did nothing wrong by using personal email.
Over the weekend, Clinton told CBS that the FBI has not reached out to her for an interview but that she is "more than ready to talk to anybody any time."
"It’s a security inquiry, I always took classified material seriously, there was never any material marked classified that was sent or received by me," she said of the probe.