In early May, former FBI Director James Comey said he decided to go public with the findings of an investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails on his own because he feared the Department of Justice had lost credibility.
Comey told Congress, "A number of things had gone on, some of which I can't talk about yet, that made me worry that the department leadership could not credibly complete the investigation and decline prosecution."
But a new report from The Washington Post suggests one of the factors that influenced that decision might have lacked credibility itself.
The Post says the FBI obtained a supposed piece of intercepted Russian intelligence in March. The intel claimed then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch told the Clinton campaign not to worry about the investigation.
The FBI reportedly had doubts about the document, and by August, they determined it was fake. But Comey had already announced his investigation's results. The White House cited that disclosure when it fired him.
Comey didn't mention any bogus document in his testimony before Congress; instead, he said a meeting between Lynch and former President Bill Clinton was the "capper" in helping him decide to make a public statement.
