exposed to the media? Did you make the point or have your liaisons make the point to the Members of Congress that this should not have been exposed?
Mr. Comey. I don't know for sure. It wasn't classified. It was a private communication to the eight chairs and rankings of the committees that had received information from the FBI. And the Congressional Affairs staff of the FBI thought those were the people it ought to go to. It was not, as you said earlier, we didn't release anything to the public, but it wasn't classified.
Ms. Jackson Lee. But I think you can -- would you pretty well agree that 16 addressees is almost inevitably going to be released?
Mr. Comey. Yes.
Ms. Jackson Lee. Do you think that the FBI could have been more cautious, whether you did government affairs, 8 days out or how many days out before the election?
Mr. Comey. I don't know, is the honest answer. The staff that works Congressional Affairs thought we had to inform these eight committee chairs and rankings. And so I think about it the way you do, that raised the serious prospect it would be released to the public, and -- but that was a risk we thought we had to run.
Ms. Jackson Lee. Why did not Attorney General Lynch or Deputy Attorney General Yates not make the announcements of
