In a conference call with top donors on Saturday, former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton reportedly placed some of the blame of her election loss on FBI Director James Comey.
Clinton reportedly blamed Comey for releasing a letter to Congress just two weeks out from Election Day that detailed a renewed probe into her emails. After nine days, the FBI director then released a subsequent letter stating that the review of freshly discovered emails had been completed and that investigators still did not believe Clinton should be criminally charged.
Clinton told donors Saturday that Comey's first letter stopped the momentum in the polls she had been enjoying after the presidential debates, while his second letter energized Donald Trump voters, Politico and the Washington Post reported.
In thank-you call with top donors @HillaryClinton blames first Comey letter for stopping her momentum and second for energizing Trump voters
The new batch of emails were discovered during a separate investigation of disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin, for allegedly sexting a teenage girl.
While the FBI's ultimate decision to not press charges was good news for Clinton, Democrats were angry that the FBI caused such a stir right before the election.
On Friday, Clinton held a separate phone call to thank campaign volunteers.
“Look, I’m not going to sugarcoat it: These have been very, very tough days,” she told the volunteers. “I hope that you will all take some time to regroup. It’s important that you understand that, you know, there’s still a lot to be done in our country, by people like you, who are so, so important to us.”