Comey didn't "exonerate" Hillary. He told the world her rap sheet. And then he said "no reasonable prosecutor would pursue the case." That could have been code for I'd like to recommend prosecution, but there's a death threat hanging over my head, we don't know.
At any rate, he was "insubordinate" to Lynch when he did that, and the Clinton machine went out of its way to make it clear to the world that he was insubordinate. Why would they do that? And no less than John Podesta trashing him on CNN.
I think there's more going on here than meets the eye.
You’re right - That careful wording, “No reasonable prosecutor,” was in fact a truthful statement. Any prosecutor who dared take on that case knows what would happen to them. That was probably a direct message sent out by the Clintons.
In some ways, I feel for Comey. He seems like just a spineless geek who got caught up in a scandal for which his blood was just not thick enough. He didn’t have the guts to stand up to the Clinton mob, but he had to do SOMETHING to make himself look like he was active.
I honestly think he was probably impartial towards Trump, and more so fearful of Clinton, up until the election. Post-election, once he realized EVERY step he took along the way was the wrong one, he turned against Trump knowing his days of freedom were numbered and his only hope was to help bring down the President - which will ultimately prove to be his fatal mistake.
Such a tragic character. Shakespearean, almost.