FBI Director James Comey's recommendation that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton not be prosecuted for using a private email server did not sit well with lower ranking members of the agency or at the Justice Department, Fox News reports an anonymous source involved in the case said.
"No trial level attorney agreed, no agent working the case agreed, with the decision not to prosecute — it was a top-down decision," the source, identified as a senior FBI official, told FoxNews.com.
Comey's decision was not an unanimous decision, the source said, adding, "It was unanimous that we all wanted her [Clinton's] security clearance yanked."
"It is well known that the FBI agents on the ground, the human beings who did the investigative work, had built an extremely strong case against Hillary Clinton and were furious when the case did not move forward," Fox News judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano said. "They believe the decision not to prosecute came from The White House."
Comey on July 5 announced his agency would not recommend prosecution, though his description of Clinton's actions led critics to believe he should have. Comey testified to Congress that the governing statute requires intent, and that his investigation was unable to prove intent.
"Basically, James Comey hijacked the DOJ’s role by saying 'no reasonable prosecutor would bring this case,'" the FBI source said. "The FBI does not decide who to prosecute and when, that is the sole province of a prosecutor – that never happens."
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