‘I hate having to do it’: The Comey ‘October Surprise’ in 2016 that was no surprise to some at FBI
DOJ prosecution of Comey sheds more light on the fired FBI director's machinations and on 2016's "October Surprise."
By Jerry Dunleavy
Published: November 14, 2025 11:02pm
Months before he was fired as FBI director, James Comey expressed discomfort in the final weeks of the 2016 election when he was compelled to tell Congress that agents had found more Hillary Clinton emails on a laptop belonging to disgraced former Democrat Congressman Anthony Weiner, according to newly released court records.
“I hate having to do it," Comey wrote a friend in an email recently made public by federal prosecutors that gives Americans new insights into the ex-director's mindset during the contentious 2016 presidential election.
Comey is currently being prosecuted on charges he misled and obstructed Congress when he denied authorizing leaks to the media about the FBI’s Clinton investigation in 2016.
As Comey denies wrongdoing and fights to dismiss the charges, the Justice Department has released never-before-seen messages from Comey to his friend and confidante Daniel Richman, showing that Comey expected Clinton to emerge victorious over Donald Trump and shining more light on the so-called “October Surprise” — the Weiner laptop emails — which actually came as no surprise to FBI leaders.
In fact, since-fired FBI special agent Peter Strzok had known about the Weiner laptop emails since September 2016, well before Comey's email to Richman.
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https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/i-hate-having-do-it-comey-october-surprise-2016-was-no-surprise-some-fbi
