Former FBI Director James Comey has defended his controversial decision to reopen an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email use just days before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, saying he would make the same choice again.

Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Comey said the move, made on October 28, 2016, was “the least bad option” available at the time. The announcement came 11 days before Election Day, during a tightly contested race between Clinton and Donald Trump, who is now the current U.S. president.

Comey stands by 2016 decision

Comey said the FBI’s decision was triggered after agents discovered additional emails during a separate investigation into former Congressman Anthony Weiner of New York. Those emails were believed to be connected to Clinton’s use of a private server while she served as Secretary of State.

He explained that once the information surfaced, the FBI had to decide whether to disclose it or remain silent until the investigation was complete.

“Both options were bad,” Comey said on the program, according to NBC News. “But this was the one most consistent with the values of the department.”

He said the FBI also considered whether to pass the matter entirely to then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch, but rejected that option. Comey said he believed doing so would have been an avoidance of responsibility after he had already told Congress that the investigation into Clinton’s emails was closed.

Also Read: Hillary Clinton Disagrees With Donald Trump Over American Values

“I had testified all summer that the investigation was done, and now it wasn’t done,” Comey said. “Do I conceal that from Congress and the American people? I could not.”

Political impact on Clinton

The FBI’s decision in late October 2016 immediately became a central issue in the final days of the presidential campaign. Clinton had been leading in many national polls before the announcement, but the renewed attention on her email practices shifted media coverage and political momentum.

Eleven days after Comey’s public statement, Trump defeated Clinton in the general election. The episode has remained one of the most debated moments in modern U.S. political history, with critics arguing that the timing of the FBI announcement may have influenced voter behavior in a close race.

Comey has repeatedly said he did not intend to affect the outcome of the election. In his latest comments, he said his goal throughout 2016 was to avoid political interference, even as he acknowledged that both available options carried significant risks.

Also Read: James Comey to Plead in Federal Court June 30 Over Alleged Coded Threat to Trump via ‘86 47’ Post

“My goal all of that year was to stay out of politics,” he said on Meet the Press.

The former FBI director’s comments come at a time when he is again facing legal and political attention. According to reports, Comey is scheduled to stand trial in July over a social media post involving the phrase “86 47,” which federal prosecutors have interpreted as a potential threat against President Trump.

One of the charges against him has already been dismissed, but the remaining case has kept him in the public spotlight years after his tenure at the FBI ended.

His role in the 2016 election has also continued to draw scrutiny from political figures across the spectrum. Supporters of Clinton have long argued that the FBI’s public disclosure days before the election was damaging, while critics of Clinton maintain that the agency had a duty to inform the public once new evidence emerged.