WASHINGTON, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Ex-FBI Director James Comey deviated from norms of the agency and the Department of Justice (DOJ) in handling the probe of Hillary Clinton's use of private email server, according to an internal report released on Thursday.
The report, conducted by Inspector General Michael Horowitz, also concluded that Comey's decisions during the 2016 U.S. presidential election race were not driven by political bias to help either side.
The highly-anticipated report found that Comey was insubordinate when making some key decisions with regard to the probe of Clinton's email use while she was secretary of state, including his public announcement in July 2016 that there would be no charges against Clinton.
The former FBI chief was accused of violating DOJ policy by revealing days before the election that the agency was examining new materials possible relevant to the Clinton probe, a decision that, as Clinton has argued, contributed to her loss in the race.
In addition, the report was highly critical of two FBI staff members who exchanged highly charged political messages, finding that their texts created the appearance of bias and cast cloud over the FBI.
"While we did not find that these decisions were the result of political bias on Comey's part, we nevertheless concluded that by departing so clearly and dramatically from FBI and department norms, the decisions negatively impacted the perception of the FBI and the department," the report read.
In response to the report, Comey tweeted that he respects the Inspector General's office and the "conclusions are reasonable," even though he disagreed with some of them. He said that "people of good faith" can see the "unprecedented situation differently."
Comey was fired by President Donald Trump in May 2017, which led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, who is looking into whether the president obstructed justice in the Russia probe, among other things.
Trump has repeatedly criticized Comey for his handling of the Clinton probe and also targeted the FBI and the DOJ, which analysts say were intended to undermine the Mueller probe.
At the White House briefing Thursday, press secretary Sarah Sanders said the report is reaffirming Trump's suspicions about the "political bias among some of the members of the FBI."
