FBI
Director Comey, meanwhile, has stirred tensions
by linking rising violent crime rates to
the Black Lives Matter movement’s focus on police violence and
by warning about “gaps” in the screening process for Syrian refugees.
Then there’s
the biggest issue of
all: the FBI’s investigation into the private email server used by
Hillary Clinton, Obama’s former secretary of State and the
leading contender to win the Democratic presidential nomination.
A
decision by the FBI to charge Clinton or her top aides for mishandling
classified information would be a shock to the political system.
In these cases and more, Comey — a Republican who donated in 2012 to
Mitt Romney —
has proved he is “not
attached to the strings of the White House,”
said Ron Hosko, the former head of the FBI’s criminal investigative
division and a critic of Obama’s law enforcement strategies.
Publicly, administration officials have not betrayed any worry about
the Clinton probe. They have also downplayed any differences of opinion
on Apple.
But former officials say the FBI’s moves are clearly ruffling feathers
within the administration.
