The co-author of a Hillary Clinton biography said Wednesday the FBI’s critical statement about her private email conduct was a "really devastating moment" for her perception among some voters as being untrustworthy.
Jonathan Allen, a Roll Call reporter who co-wrote HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of Hillary Clinton, discussed with CNN’s Carol Costello the announcement by House Republicans to seek hearings about the FBI probe into Clinton’s use of a private email server to see if she mishandled classified material at the State Department.
House Oversight Committee chairman Jason Chaffetz (R., Utah) said Comey had been invited to Capitol Hill to testify on Thursday. Costello appeared to think this move could be an overreach by the GOP, given Comey’s remarks Tuesday calling her "extremely careless" with handling classified information.
"It was bad for Hillary Clinton. It was devastating for Hillary Clinton," Costello said. "Why isn’t this enough for Republicans?"
"It was less devastating for Hillary Clinton than the FBI recommending criminal charges against her, but I agree with you," Allen said. "It was a really devastating moment for her in terms of the trust question, in terms of the honesty question, in terms of whether or not she may have violated statute. Jim Comey didn’t even say that she didn’t break the law. He simply said that no reasonable prosecutor would prosecute, given what the FBI had found."
Allen guessed Republicans would like to hear more of Comey criticizing Clinton’s conduct in a public forum.
Poll after poll has shown that a majority of Americans do not find the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee to be honest or trustworthy, citing her email scandal as a primary reason why. The FBI did not recommend charges be brought against Clinton for her use of a private server but slammed the atmosphere of carelessness she presided over at the State Department.