Harry Reid blasts FBI's Comey for 'partisan actions' and possible violations of federal law

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) blasted FBI Director James Comey for his "partisan actions" with regard to the 2016 election. Comey's Friday announcement that the agency is reviewing new materials in the investigation of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server during her time as Secretary of State, said Reid, may be in direct violation of federal law.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that Reid is preparing a letter to Comey and the FBI accusing the director of prioritizing the interests of one political party over the other in his letter to Congress on Friday -- which Comey sent against the advice of the Justice Department and some parties within the FBI.

Reid said that Comey has crossed a line and violated the Hatch Act, which bars government employees from using their positions to advance a political agenda.

“I am writing to inform you that my office has determined that these actions may violate the Hatch Act,” said Reid in a draft of the letter obtained by the Journal. “Through your partisan actions, you may have broken the law.”

The FBI declined to comment on Reid's actions, which align with many Democrats' views that Comey jumped the gun by telling politicians that the investigation could be re-opened before the bureau had even obtained warrants to view the "new" emails, which were recovered through the agency's investigation of disgraced New York Congressman Anthony Weiner.

At this juncture, the FBI does not know what's in the emails found on Weiner's laptop, who they are from or whether they are materials that the FBI already reviewed as part of its investigation into the private server.