Precedent set

POLITICAL tension is running high in the United States. And so it behooves everyone in a position of official responsibility to do everything to help maintain stability until the bitter competition between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump runs its ugly course on November 8.

That is the context for Friday’s announcement by James B Comey, director of the FBI, that his agency is again looking into Clinton’s private e-mail server in light of newly discovered e-mails “that appear to be pertinent to the investigation”. Comey may have had good reason to inform Republican committee chairmen in Congress of the review, but his timing was nevertheless unfortunate.

According to the previous FBI review, the small amount of classified material that moved through Clinton’s private server was not clearly marked as such and no harm to national security has been demonstrated. The FBI conducted a thorough investigation for any prosecutable offences.

Comey rightly recommended against bringing charges; he told his staff that the decision was “not a cliff-hanger”. In deference to the reality the target of the inquiry was a major party nominee for president, he gave the public a summary of the facts and law behind his decision.

Comey went too far, however, in providing raw FBI material to Congress, notwithstanding its important oversight role; that attempt to appease Republicans set a precedent that future partisans who are unhappy with the results of FBI investigations may exploit.

Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said he is “confident” full disclosure “will not produce any conclusions different from the one the FBI reached in July”.