--- title: James Comey Says He 'Never' Leaked Information on Election description: FBI Director James Comey said during testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday that he hasn't ever leaked information to the media. canonical: https://time.com/4764905/james-comey-hearing-fbi-leaks/ copyright: © 2026 TIME USA, LLC. All Rights Reserved. terms: https://legal.time.com/terms-of-service/ license_contact: syndication@time.com author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-03T14:46:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:00:46.552Z article:section: Politics og:title: James Comey Says He 'Never' Leaked Information on Trump or Clinton og:description: He was asked if he'd ever been an anonymous source og:url: https://time.com/4764905/james-comey-hearing-fbi-leaks/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt41fdfba48c2da21a/6988cbcc0b72e30e1a6eda26/james-comey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 og:image:alt: FBI Director Comey prepares to testify at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: James Comey Says He 'Never' Leaked Information on Trump or Clinton twitter:description: He was asked if he'd ever been an anonymous source twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt41fdfba48c2da21a/6988cbcc0b72e30e1a6eda26/james-comey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # James Comey Says He 'Never' Leaked Information on Trump or Clinton > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=7d3468ea-ed25-4828-87b6-6c3b95327c07&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: FBI Director James Comey Testifies Before Senate Judiciary Committee [Watch (HLS stream): FBI Director James Comey Testifies Before Senate Judiciary Committee](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/v3ZsGTIA.m3u8) (1:50)  _Published 2017-05-03. FBI Director James Comey testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee._  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson May 3, 2017 2:46 PM UTC FBI Director James Comey testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson May 3, 2017 2:46 PM UTC FBI Director James Comey said during [testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee](http://time.com/4764715/james-comey-senate-hearing-russia-trump-clinton/) Wednesday that he hasn’t ever leaked information to the media about investigations into Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. “Never,” Comey said when committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley asked him if he’d “ever been an anonymous source in news reports in matters relating to the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation.” Grassley then asked if Comey had ever authorized anyone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source on these topics, and he said “no.” When asked if any classified information “relating to President Trump or his associates” had been declassified and shared with journalists, Comey said, “Not to my knowledge.” “There have been a variety of leaks,” Comey said. “Leaks are always a problem, but especially in the past three to six months.” Comey is expected to field questions about the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. election during Wednesday’s hearing. ## Transcript Director Comey, have you ever been an anonymous source in news reports about matters relating to the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation? Never. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Question two, relatively related, Have you ever authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports about the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation? No. Has any classified information relating to President Trump or his associates Been declassified and shared with the media >> Not to my knowledge. There have been a variety of leaks but leaks are always a problem but especially in the last three to six months. Look, this is terrible. It makes me mildly nauseous to think that we might have had some impact on the election. But honestly, it wouldn't change the decision. Everybody who disagrees with me has to come back to October 28th with me and stare at this, and tell me what you would do. Would you speak, or would you conceal? And I could be wrong, but we honestly made a decision between those two choices, that even in hindsight, and this has been one of the world's most painful experiences I would make that the same decision. I would not conceal that. On October 28 from the Congress and I sent a letter to Congress, by the way people forget this. I didn't make a public announcement. I sent a private letter to the chairs and the rankings of the Oversight Committees. Well, did you? I know it's a distinction without a difference in the world of leaks. But it was very important that I tell them Instead of concealing and reasonable people can disagree, but that's the reason I made that choice, and it was a hard choice. 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