Comey's wall of silence! FBI director angers lawmakers by dodging questions during closed-door briefing about whether he is investigating Trump's links to Russia 

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James Comey is receiving a lot of flak from House Democrats after the FBI director refused to confirm whether or not the bureau is investigating links between President-elect Donald Trump and Russia.

In a closed-door briefing on Friday, the law enforcement officer said he would 'never comment' on a potential FBI investigation.

The Justice Department's Inspector General Michael Horowitz announced on Thursday an investigation will be carried out to look at whether Comey followed policy and if he improperly disclosed nonpublic information regarding the Clinton campaign. 

The FBI director refused to comment on investigation of Trump and Russia after a contentious session on Friday (Pictured: Comey at a Senate hearing on Tuesday) 

Critics said Comey's decision to stay tight-lipped was hypocritical referring to the time he broke protocol during a press conference where he explained why he wouldn't charge Hillary Clinton for the email scandal.

US intelligence official James Clapper released a report last week saying the agency had found ties between the Putin and Trump and found evidence that the Russian government staged cyber attacks on the US to influence the election.

Democratic congressman Jerrold Nadler asked Comey if he thought there had been a double standard with the two situations, the Associated Press reported.

'Do you believe that standard has been met with reference to the possible investigation of the Trump campaign's possible connections to the Russian government? And if not, why not?', Nadler asked.

Comey replied the cases were not the same and refused to comment.  

US intelligence officials released a report last week saying the agency had found ties between the Putin and Trump and found evidence that the Russian government staged cyber attacks on the US to influence the election

Eleven days before the election, the FBI director reopened the case against Clinton, which caused contention among democratic leaders and Comey.

The timing of his announcement led Democrats to believe it influenced  Hillary Clinton's loss in the presidential race.

Comey initially looked into Clinton's email scandal in July and cleared her after finding her use of the email server 'reckless' but not illegal. 

He opened the investigation once again just days before the 2016 election in November citing newfound emails. 

Days later, Comey said he found no incriminating evidence against the Democratic presidential candidate.  

Following her shocking defeat, Clinton called Comey's letter to Congress which 'groundless, baseless, proven to be, stopped our momentum,' the New York Times reported. 

After the hearing, California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi told reporters the issue was of 'high interest' and the 'American people are owed the truth.' 

While Republican Steve King said he was impressed by the way the FBI director handled the contentious briefing, The Wall Street Journal said in an editorial that Comey should resign from his position.