Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is set to launch an all-out public relations attack on FBI Director James Comey, according to talking points obtained by The Hill.
Clinton will encourage surrogates to question Comey’s competency by arguing he “hadn’t even reviewed the material before he started this whole confounding situation.”
They’ll allege an “abuse of protocol,” claiming that Comey went against the wishes of the Justice Department and is attempting to influence the looming election.
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Further, according to the talking points, they’ll question why the FBI hasn’t released any details about its investigation into cyber attacks, believed by some to be carried out by Russia, against Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and the Democratic National Committee.
Clinton has already heaped criticism onto the FBI, Comey specifically, pointing to the vague nature and timing of his decision to renew the investigation into Clinton’s email servers.
“I’m sure a lot of you may be asking what this new email story is about, and why in the world the FBI would decide to jump into an election with no evidence of wrongdoing with just days to go,” Clinton said at a rally at Kent State University in Ohio on Monday. “That’s a good question.”
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The rhetoric of Clinton surrogates will likely mirror that of the many Democrats who have come out of the woodwork to shovel criticism onto the embattled FBI director, who, in the eyes of leftists, has fallen from a dutiful public servant to an alleged lawbreaker.
In addition to claiming that Comey’s actions violate the Hatch Act, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has alleged the WikiLeaks email hacks had “possible connections to the Trump campaign,” despite evidence otherwise.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder, whose own career was saddled with conflict and controversial actions, said Comey’s actions break with decades of precedent in which the Justice Department goes out of its way not to influence the election.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has made a point to question Clinton’s decision-making, citing a statement made by former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders wherein he said Clinton had “bad judgment.”
Clinton, labeled by some on the left as a hawk, has heavily utilized war rhetoric throughout her campaign, especially as she’s attempted to paint opponent Trump as a figure who cannot be trusted with access to U.S. nuclear weapons.
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Clinton’s decision to embark on a public relations war with the FBI has caused some Democrats to question whether it is prudent for her to do so.
“It’s of course better the campaign be about Clinton versus Trump rather than Clinton versus Comey,” said Democratic strategist Mark Alderman. “The way this election has gone, whoever is in the news is losing. You have to get out of the news, and fighting with Comey keeps her in the news.”
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