LETTER: Comey doesn't convince this ex-lawman

I have committed over 50 years of my life to the law enforcement profession — 25 years as a member of one of America’s finest police departments, and another 29 years as a consultant and educator. As such, I am deeply concerned with the results of the FBI’s investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s case.

 It clearly seems the facts that FBI Director James Comey identified and acknowledged as true prove criminal behavior not only in her acts in violation of federal law but in her continuing attempts to lie and otherwise deceive everyone, which in most minds further establishes her guilt.

I have thought carefully about Director Comey’s rationale for absolving her, but that rationale appears basically to be subjective interpretation which does not in common sense, logic, or law outweigh the actual facts. I think the legal phrase is “The preponderance of evidence.”

I am further confused by Comey’s decision to pass such judgment when I clearly recall the normal procedure being that the investigative agency gathers the evidence and then submits it to the prosecutorial agency for a determination to proceed or not. It is customary for the investigative agency to recommend an action, but the final decision is usually left to the prosecuting agency. Why did Director Comey choose to throw himself under the bus when that should have been the attorney general?

Rather than obviate the question of double standards, Comey’s decision only reinforced in the minds of most Americans that such double standards do exist. I commented many times to my friends and colleagues that the scandal does not exist that the Clintons cannot survive. It never occurred to me, however, that such a free pass would come at the hands of the FBI. It appears at this point that Director Comey has betrayed the honor and integrity of his agency.

However, I’ve been around long enough to suspect there may be another side to this story that in all fairness might justify the decision. In our business it’s not possible to tell everyone everything without compromising ongoing investigations. If such is the case, it might well absolve Mr. Comey and the FBI and even add to their honor. If that’s not the case and Mrs. Clinton becomes the next president, Director Comey will be remembered in history as the man who could have prevented a totally immoral, unscrupulous career criminal from becoming president but chose not to.

—Tom Osborne, Kalispell