President Donald Trump took aim at former FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday, two days after Comey stated that Democrats “have to win” back the White House in 2020. Comey said in an MSNBC interview that Trump’s presidency has been “an attack on our values,” which Trump apparently took to mean that Comey is no longer a Republican, which he was known to be in the past.
“James Comey just totally exposed his partisan stance by urging his fellow Democrats to take back the White House in 2020. In other words, he is and has been a Democrat,” Trump stated.
James Comey just totally exposed his partisan stance by urging his fellow Democrats to take back the White House in 2020. In other words, he is and has been a Democrat. Comey had no right heading the FBI at any time, but especially after his mind exploded!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2018
Not only did Trump accuse Comey of going blue, he said that made him unfit for his old job.
“Comey had no right heading the FBI at any time, but especially after his mind exploded!” Trump claimed.
Of course, what party a person belongs to has nothing to do with their fitness or eligibility to lead the FBI, leading national security lawyer Brad Moss to question Trump’s logic.
Democrats aren’t allowed to be FBI Directors? That’s new. https://t.co/ezMhxy9RgJ
— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) December 11, 2018
Trump supporters have long blasted Comey for his decision not to recommend charges against Hillary Clinton for her personal email use while she served as Secretary of State. A DOJ Inspector General’s report also criticized Comey’s decision to make a public statement about this at the time. Trump himself allegedly also grew frustrated by Comey’s failure to comply with a request to publicly announce that Trump had not been under investigation by the FBI during their probe of Russian election interference, which is now led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. At the time, Trump had not been under investigation, but his subsequent firing of Comey led to an ongoing investigation of possible obstruction of justice.
Trump’s claim that a “partisan stance” made Comey unfit for his position echoes past concerns over FBI agent Peter Strzok and attorney Lisa Page, whose anti-Trump text messages cause concern over institutional bias against Trump and in favor of Clinton. An Inspector General report concluded that while Strzok, Page, and others may have demonstrated personal bias, only Strzok showed any indication that such bias may have affected his work.
[Image via Alex Wong/Getty Images]
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