Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer hopes former FBI Director James Comey takes heed of how the current head of the bureau is handling an investigation.
In a tweet Thursday, Fleischer made a comparison between Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton emails investigation to how the FBI, under Director Chris Wray, is handling the Brett Kavanaugh sexual assault allegations probe.
"Anyone notice what the FBI Director did not do?" he asked. "He did NOT hold a news conf 2release the bureau’s findings. He did NOT decide what conclusion a superior agency (Justice/Senate) must reach. He did NOT make himself the center of attention."
Fleischer, who served in the George W. Bush White House, concluded: "I hope James Comey was watching."
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Anyone notice what the FBI Director did not do?
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) October 4, 2018
He did NOT hold a news conf 2release the bureau’s findings.
He did NOT decide what conclusion a superior agency (Justice/Senate) must reach.
He did NOT make himself the center of attention.
I hope James Comey was watching.
The not-so-subtle knock on Comey referred to his controversial decisions during the Clinton probe in the midst of the 2016 campaign. Comey, as FBI director, held a press conference in July 2016 to recommend, without Justice Department approval, Clinton not face criminal charges for her handling of classified information while serving as secretary of state.
Months later Comey told Congress the FBI was reopening its probe, only to close it again days before the November election.
Clinton and her allies list Comey's handling of the investigation as a reason for her loss to President Trump, and a DOJ inspector general condemned Comey for being "insubordinate."
Comey has chimed in on the FBI's just-wrapped investigation into the Kavanaugh allegations.
Comey wrote an op-ed in the New York Times over the weekend expressing his faith in the FBI being able to uncover the truth. "It is better to give professionals seven days to find facts than have no professional investigation at all," Comey wrote. "Agents can just do their work. Find facts. Speak truth to power."
He also wrote Kavanaugh's "obvious lies" about his high school yearbook hint at "bigger lies" that may be uncovered, and while he acknowledged the FBI won't reach any conclusions, "their granular factual presentation will spotlight the areas of conflict and allow decision makers to reach their own conclusions."
The FBI completed its investigation on Wednesday. A number of interviews were conducted, but the bureau did not reach any conclusions and its findings were only shared with the White House and members of the Senate, who will soon vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation.