Comey says anyone who thinks the FBI favored Hillary Clinton in its emails investigation is 'smoking something'

• Former FBI director James Comey said in a testimony Friday that anyone who thought the FBI sought to favor then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in an investigation was "smoking something.'
• Comey was testifying to the House Judiciary Committee and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee concerning his role in investigating Hillary Clinton's email server.
• President Donald Trump was one of the most prominent figures to take issues with Comey's handling of investigating Clinton's emails, which remains one of his key talking points at rallies with his supporters, who often chant "lock her up." 

Former FBI director James Comey said in a testimony Friday that anyone who thought the FBI sought to favor then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in an investigation into her use of a private email server was "smoking something."

Comey was testifying to the House Judiciary Committee and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee concerning his role in investigating Clinton's email server and the Trump campaign's potential ties to Russia.

According to the session's transcript, Rep. John Ratcliffe addressed Comey to summarize his remarks and confirm his July 2016 statement that though Clinton had mishandled and lied about emails, no criminal charges should be brought against her.

"Yep, I believed it then, I believe it now," Comey said. "Anybody that thinks we were on team Clinton trying to cut her a break is smoking something."

Ratcliffe replied before moving on to the next question, "I'll object to everything after 'yep' as nonresponsive to my question."

After months of pushing for public testimony, Comey settled for closed-door proceedings with a transcript released the next day. However, in a tweet posted Friday evening after the session, Comey said House Republicans were not conducting "a search for truth" as much as they were executing "a desperate attempt to find anything that can be used to attack the institutions of justice investigating this president."

Though he first earned Trump's ire when he publicly confirmed the existence of the Russia investigation in March 2017, Comey's participation has earned a resurgence of public hits from Trump.

In a series of tweets posted Sunday morning, Trump accused "Leakin' James Comey" of lying to Congress in his testimony but offered no evidence or further explanation.

Read more: Trump lashes out on Twitter after James Comey's testimony: 'All lies!'

Comey and Clinton have been two of President Donald Trump's most notable targets long after the 2016 investigation and election.

Clinton's use of a private email server to conduct government business when she was secretary of state remains one of Trump's key talking points with his supporters, who often chant "lock her up" at rallies. 

The New York Times reported last month that Trump wanted to order the Justice Department to investigate the two, who he sees as two of his biggest political rivals, but backed down when he was told he didn't have the authority.