FBI Director James Comey announced on Tuesday that the agency will not recommend charges be brought against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. However, this was after Comey spent the first half of his press conference essentially laying out the case for why Clinton should be indicted. Now, House Speaker Paul Ryan would like to know how the FBI arrived at its conclusion.
Speaking on Fox News Tuesday night, Ryan told host Megyn Kelly that Republicans will hold hearings to better understand the FBI’s decision.
"People have been convicted for far less," he said, adding that the decision “underscores the belief that the Clintons live above the law."
Comey said that while there was evidence Clinton and her staff were "extremely careless" with classified information, "no reasonable prosecutor" would bring a case against her in relation to her use of a private email server while secretary of state.
"We're going to have hearings," Ryan said on Fox, mentioning House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah). Chaffetz indicated hours earlier on Fox that he was considering calling Comey to Capitol Hill to testify about the FBI's probe and conclusion not to recommend charges.
Ryan said Clinton "clearly lives above the law," saying Comey has ”shredded" Clinton's defense of her email practices while serving as secretary of State. Ryan described Clinton as "grossly negligent."
Ryan said the FBI should release its findings regarding the Clinton email investigation.
He also supported Chaffetz’s call to have Comey address Congress given that “he didn’t [take] any questions with the press.”
"There are a lot of unanswered questions here, Megyn, that need to get answers to," Ryan said.