The report also found, however, that the FBI’s actions were not motivated by partisan bias and that the investigation was opened for a proper cause.

The allegation against the FBI lawyer is part of a Justice Department inspector general investigation into the early days of the FBI’s Russia probe.

Democrats have blamed Comey's handling of an investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server and his late-October release of a letter about the case as among the reasons for her loss to Republican Donald Trump.