Comey Responds to Barr’s Claims of FBI ‘Spying’ on Trump Campaign: ‘I Have No Idea What the Heck He’s Talking About’
Former FBI director James Comey said he’s dismayed with how Attorney General William Barr characterized the surveillance undertaken with Donald Trump‘s campaign in 2016.
During a conversation at the Hewlett Foundation’s Verify Conference on Thursday, Comey addressed how Barr characterized the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation as “spying” on Trump’s campaign. Even though the AG has tried to clean up his comments by saying he wants to check if the probe was established on an appropriate basis, multiple reporters have picked up on how Comey said the insinuations from Barr’s comments raise questions of whether he’ll “stand up for truth and facts.”
Jim Comey speaking at #verify2019 on Barr’s comments about the FBI “spying” during 2016: “I have no idea what the heck he’s talking about.”
— Garrett M. Graff (@vermontgmg) April 11, 2019
Comey: “The only thing I can say generally is that I think his career has earned him a presumption that he will be one of the rare Trump cabinet members who will stand up for truth & facts…language like this makes it harder, but i still think he’s entitled to that presumption.”
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) April 11, 2019
CNN’s Susan Hennessey proceeded to ask Comey what he might have done differently in retrospect when he became head of the bureau in 2013. He also shared his thoughts regarding Barr’s summary of the Mueller report and Trump’s attitude towards Russian interference in American politics.
.@Susan_Hennessey asks @Comey what the FBI might have done differently going back to 2013 in preparation for 2016. “Going back to 2013, can I decline to accept the appointment of FBI director?” Comey jokes.
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) April 11, 2019
Comey on Russian attack on U.S. election process in 2016
“I don’t see that our commander in chief even acknowledges it even happened. So if you don’t acknowledge that [another country] attacked you… our silence is an invitation to do it again.” #hewlettverify
— Tim Mak (@timkmak) April 11, 2019
.@Comey on Trump and Russian interference: “We need to ask why our president will not acknowledge what his intelligence community has found…I don’t think we are adequately prepared, and in many ways we’re inviting it to happen again in virtue of our president’s silence.”
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) April 11, 2019
One of the good things about Barr’s letter, Comey says, is that the “Russia thing” is not a hoax
“They will be back,” Comey said. “The Russians will be playing in the 2020 election, trying to achieve the goals they were trying to achieve in 2016.” #hewlettverify
— Tim Mak (@timkmak) April 11, 2019
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