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He violated every rule in the book governing the conduct of federal law enforcement officials and did so in a way that was partisan and that indubitably affected the outcome of the election.

—Elliott Jacobson, one of Comey’s former colleagues in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York who has served as a prosecutor for nearly thirty-seven years, in a letter to the editor of the New York Times, April 26, 2017

On October 28 I was headed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a rally with the leaders of several major women’s advocacy groups. My friend Betsy was with me on the plane. Annie Leibovitz, the legendary photographer, was along as well to snap candid photos of life on the trail. The election was just eleven days away, and early voting was already in full swing in thirty-six states and the District of Columbia. I was taking nothing for granted, but I was feeling good about our momentum coming out of three successful debates, strong poll numbers, and early-vote projections.

When we landed in Cedar Rapids, Robby Mook, Nick Merrill, and communications director Jennifer Palmieri said they had some news to share. “We have something to tell you, and it’s not good,” Jennifer said. I had a sinking feeling. Things had been going too well for too long. We were due for trouble. “What now?” I asked. “Jim Comey . . .” Jennifer began, and I immediately knew it was bad.

We didn’t have a lot of information, because the internet had been very spotty on the flight, but Jennifer said it seemed that Comey had sent a brief, vaguely worded letter to eight different congressional committees saying that in connection with an unrelated case, “the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent” to the previously closed investigation into my handling of classified information—although “the FBI cannot yet assess whether or not this material may be significant.”

Jason Chaffetz, the then-Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, immediately tweeted with glee: “Case reopened.”

Was this a bad joke? It had to be. The FBI wasn’t the Federal Bureau of Ifs or Innuendoes. Its job was to find out the facts. What the hell was Comey doing?

I got off the plane and into the waiting motorcade, beckoning Betsy to join me in the car. What a relief to have my friend with me.

By the time we finished the rally and got back to the plane, the team had learned more. I sat back down in my seat, across from Huma and Betsy, and asked Jennifer to fill me in. How much crazier could this story get?

A lot.

The unrelated federal investigation turned out to be the one into Huma’s estranged husband, Anthony Weiner. His lawyers had turned over a laptop of his to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. FBI agents from the New York field office searched the computer and found emails between Huma and me.

When we heard this, Huma looked stricken. Anthony had already caused so much heartache. And now this.

“This man is going to be the death of me,” she said, bursting into tears.

After more than twenty years working with Huma, I think the world of her, and seeing her in such distress broke my heart. I looked at Betsy, and we both got up to comfort her. I gave her a hug while Betsy patted her shoulder.

In the days that followed, some people thought I should fire Huma or “distance myself.” Not a chance. She had done nothing wrong and was an invaluable member of my team. I stuck by her the same way she has always stuck by me.

The more we learned, the more infuriating the story became. The FBI didn’t ask Huma or me for permission to read the emails it found, which we would have granted immediately. In fact, they didn’t contact us at all. At the time, the FBI had no idea if the emails were new or duplicates of ones already reviewed, or if they were personal or work related, let alone whether they might be considered classified retroactively or not. They didn’t know anything at all. And Comey didn’t wait to learn more. He fired off his letter to Congress two days before the FBI received a warrant to look at those emails.

Why make a public statement like this, which was bound to be politically devastating, when the FBI itself couldn’t say whether the new material was important in any way? At the very end of his July 5 press conference, Comey had declared sanctimoniously, “Only facts matter,” but here the FBI didn’t know the facts and didn’t let that stop it from throwing the presidential election into chaos.

Comey’s actions were condemned swiftly by former Justice Department officials of both parties, including Republican Attorneys General Alberto Gonzales and Michael Mukasey, the latter of whom said that Comey “stepped way outside his job.”

The Department of Justice’s Inspector General also opened an investigation into Comey’s conduct.

Before Comey sent his letter, Justice Department officials reminded Comey’s deputies of the long-standing policy to avoid any activity that could be viewed as influencing an election. According to reporting by the New York Times, they also said there was no need to inform Congress before the FBI determined if the emails were pertinent. A member of Comey’s team at the FBI also raised concerns. If Comey had waited until after the FBI had reviewed the emails, he would have learned quickly that there was no new evidence. Comey sent his letter anyway.

The result, according to Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein, was so damaging that “the FBI is unlikely to regain public and congressional trust until it has a Director who understands the gravity of the mistakes and pledges never to repeat them.”

So why did Comey do it?

In a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on March 3, 2017, Comey testified that he saw only two choices: “speak” or “conceal.” But as Rosenstein noted in his memo, “?‘Conceal’ is a loaded term that misstates the issue. When federal agents quietly open a criminal investigation, we are not concealing anything; we are simply following the long-standing policy that we refrain from publicizing nonpublic information. In that context, silence is not concealment.”

I can’t know what was in Comey’s head. I don’t know if he had anything against me personally, or if he thought I was going to win the election and worried that if he didn’t speak out he’d later be attacked by Republicans or his own agents. What I do know, though, is that when you’re the head of an agency as important as the FBI, you have to care a lot more about how things really are than how they look, and you have to be willing to take the heat that goes along with the big job.

Whatever Comey was feeling or fearing, there is reason to be concerned about what was going on inside the FBI.