Calls for FBI director Comey to resign as Clinton camp assigns blame

Following Hillary Clinton’s defeat to Donald Trump in the general election, disgruntled Democrats and Clinton herself have pointed the finger at FBI director James Comey, with critics calling for him to resign.

The discontent stems from the FBI head’s decision to alert Congress of new information that may have been related to the concluded investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server, which emerged from an unrelated investigation into former Representative Anthony Weiner.

Comey’s letter came two weeks before the election, and caused Republicans and Donald Trump to quickly flip flop from criticizing the FBI to praising it. As for Democrats, they turned on the FBI chief, accusing him of breaking the law by influencing the elections.

Comey then sent a letter to House and Senate committees two days before the election, saying the FBI had reviewed the emails and found nothing to change their original conclusion that found Clinton should not be prosecuted.

This caused Republicans to express frustration again.

"You can't review 650,000 new emails in eight days — you just can't do it, folks,” Trump told supporters in Michigan. “Hillary Clinton is guilty."

Now that the results are in, the call for Comey to step down continues, with both Democrats and Republicans expressing frustration.

According to Politico, Clinton and her campaign also blame Comey for her loss to Trump.

On Saturday, Clinton told donors on a conference call that “internal polling” found support dropping with each letter Comey sent to Congress.

An email from Navin Nayak, head of the Clinton campaign’s opposition research, to staffers which was seen by Politico also blames the loss on Comey.

“Comey's letter in the last 11 days of the election both helped depress our turnout and also drove away some of our critical support among college-educated white voters—particularly in the suburbs,” it read. “We also think Comey's 2nd letter, which was intended to absolve Sec. Clinton, actually helped to bolster Trump's turnout.”

Surprisingly, the email shows the campaign was aware of other issues that were an impediment to a Clinton victory, such as “an angry and alienated electorate at home that was frustrated with our political economic system,” but believed she was “poised for a historic win.”

The email explains the loss being as a result of Comey’s letters “energizing” Trump supporters and depressing voter turnout.

It also points the finger at Green Party candidate Jill Stein, highlighting the 130,000 votes she got in states that saw a lower voter turnout. “Though her votes don't distribute perfectly to cover the margin across the three states, it is an important reminder of the influence of 3rd party votes.”