Former Gov. Martin O’Malley (D-Md.) says the FBI struck a low blow on Hillary Clinton by starting a new review of emails that could be related to her private server so close to Election Day.
“I think it was a huge cheap shot, no doubt,” he told host Bill Hemmer on Fox News’s “America’s Newsroom” Thursday.
{mosads}“This email investigation was probably the longest email investigation in FBI history,” O’Malley said of the bureau’s initial examination of the personal server setup Clinton used while secretary of State.
“And for them to go back and gratuitously say they’re looking at potentially new evidence, which they even admit may or may not be related to [former] Secretary Clinton, I think is a cheap shot.”
O’Malley then praised President Obama for criticizing FBI Director James Comey potential impact on the presidential race.
“I think he was right, and he was not alone,” he said of Obama. “This is unprecedented. There’s something strange going on at the FBI.”
“I don’t know what it is; I think eventually we’ll find out,” the former Democratic presidential candidate added. “But before that time, we’re going to vote on Tuesday regardless.”
O’Malley, who ran against Clinton in the Democratic primaries but now supports her campaign, added he finds Comey’s actions troubling because he went against the advice of the Justice Department in notifying Congress of the newly found emails.
“[It’s] a decision he made contrary to all of the advice from lawyers at the Justice Department,” he said of Comey’s letter to lawmakers.
Obama on Wednesday seemingly criticized Comey for disclosing a new FBI review related to Clinton’s server.
“I do think that there is a norm that when are investigations, we don’t operate on innuendo,” he told news website NowThis.
Comey told lawmakers on Oct. 28 the FBI found emails that appear to be “pertinent” to its examination of Clinton’s storage devices.
The FBI director added the messages were discovered during an unrelated probe regarding former Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), the estranged husband of longtime Clinton aide Huma Abedin.