Comey did not want FBI to name Russia as meddler before Election Day: report

FBI Director James Comey argued against accusing Russia of interfering in the U.S. presidential election because of the timing, according to a Monday report from CNBC.

“A foreign power was trying to undermine the election. He believed it to be true, but was against putting it out before the election,” a former FBI official told CNBC’s Eamon Javers.

In a joint statement released on Oct. 7, the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence formally accused Russia of trying to interfere in the presidential election.

According to CNBC, Comey agreed with the conclusion that a foreign power was working to influence the election but said any announcement before Nov. 8 “shouldn’t come from the FBI, which as you’ll recall it did not,” the former official said of Comey’s position.

The official told CNBC that Comey did not want the accusation against Russia to come from the agency.

“Some states have also recently seen scanning and probing of their election-related systems, which in most cases originated from servers operated by a Russian company. However, we are not now in a position to attribute this activity to the Russian Government,” the statement from the DHS and National Intelligence read. 

The revelation comes as Comey faces an onslaught of attacks from Democrats and some Republicans for a letter he sent to lawmakers last week about the investigation into Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s private server.

Critics of Comey’s letter argue that the director violated longstanding Justice Department practice not to take steps in an investigation that could influence an election.

In the letter, Comey said the FBI recently found emails that were potentially relevant to the investigation into Clinton’s use of the server while secretary of State. The emails were discovered during the course of a separate investigation into former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), who is married to longtime Clinton aide Huma Abedin, though the couple are now separated. 

“By doing a press conference, and personally testifying and giving his opinion about the conduct, he made this about James Comey and his credibility,” the former FBI official told CNBC. 

“You can see why he did it, from his perspective, once he had had that press conference,” he added.