Comey said during testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee that Loretta Lynch, the attorney general during the FBI's investigation into Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's private email server, had asked him to refer to the inquiry as a "matter" instead of an "investigation."
Comey recalled the request giving him "a queasy feeling." It also echoed language the Clinton campaign itself was using.
It "probably changed history by making Comey more skeptical about her and the Clintons' role," he said. "I inferred that it had an effect on Comey that may have changed how he handled the investigation later. She will face very tough questions. And it validates the follow-up questions on the Clinton campaign on their handling the email."
In late October, in a sensitive moment for the November election, Comey sent a letter to Congress announcing the discovery of new emails that may have been related to the Clinton case.
