FBI director defends impersonation of AP reporter

The director of the FBI defended an agent's actions in impersonating an Associated Press reporter to track down a suspect -- a tactic criticized by the news agency as "unacceptable."

In a letter to the New York Times, FBI Director James Comey said the deception had occurred in 2007, as the agency tried to solve a series of bomb threats and cyberattacks directed at a high school in the Seattle area. And he rebuffed criticism of the agency's methods, saying, "We do use deception at times to catch crooks, but we are acting responsibly and legally."