Former FBI director Comey trashes idea that bureau is out to get Republicans: ‘Nutty article of faith’
Comey told CNN's Poppy Harlow on Wednesday that the notion that the FBI is going after right-wingers is "nuts" and a "nutty article of faith."
Former FBI Director James Comey claimed the bureau did nothing wrong and is not going after anyone when asked Wednesday by "CNN This Morning" anchor Poppy Harlow about its actions during the Trump administration, particularly over allegations that the bureau has been targeting Republicans.
Comey claimed the notion that the FBI is going after the GOP is "crazy" and a "nutty article of faith."
He also insisted that he had no regrets in his handling of the Trump Russia probe, even when confronted by Harlow over Special Counsel John Durham’s report that launching an investigation into former President Donald Trump’s dealings with Russia was unjustified.
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EX-FBI Director James Comey appeared on "CNN This Morning" and dismisses accusations that the bureau was targeting Republicans. (Screenshot/CNN)
Harlow began by citing 2024 GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis’ recent statements that the FBI and DOJ "are part of the executive branch and answer to the elected President of the United States."
DeSantis’ point was that presidents have the duty to reign in these institutions when they get out of control. Harlow then asked Comey why he thinks that Republicans like DeSantis are wary about the FBI’s actions.
The ex-FBI chief blamed Trump, replying, "I think it’s largely because Donald Trump and those around him have seen the FBI as a threat and so they’ve taken a blowtorch to try and tear down that threat."
Comey then trashed the idea that FBI is out to get the left’s political opponents, stating, "It’s really unfortunate the notion that the FBI is some sort of leftist cabal out to get the Republicans. It’s so crazy it just shows you how crazy our times are."
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Special Counsel John Durham, who then-United States Attorney General William Barr appointed in 2019 after the release of the Mueller report to probe the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation, departs after his trial recessed for the day at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on May 25, 2022 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Ron Sachs/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images)
Harlow then brought up a chart showing how Republican’s trust in the FBI has halved in the last decade and asked, "What can be done to correct that? And what if it doesn’t change? What happens?"
Comey reassured Harlow that "it will change." He claimed, "The FBI will be fine in the long run. This fever around Donald Trump and the MAGA world will eventually break, but it’s become somehow a nutty article of faith that the FBI is out to get Republicans."
He added, "If you’d asked people twenty years ago whether that would be the accusation, they’d say, ‘That’s nuts.’ It’s nuts, but it will pass."
Harlow followed up with the Durham report that was released in recent weeks. She summarized the special counsel’s analysis, saying, "his conclusion was the FBI should’ve never launched a full probe of Trump and Russia. And he said that the FBI used raw unanalyzed and uncorroborated intelligence – an essentially different standard than they used with Hillary Clinton."
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally on April 27, 2023 in Manchester, New Hampshire. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
She then asked Comey if he had any regrets about how he and his team handled that investigation when he was in charge of the bureau.
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"No," Comey replied, adding, "And there’s nothing new in his report about the FBI. He thinks it ought’ve been a prelim investigation and not a full, and the differences would be boring to your listeners and your viewers."