Trump Distances Himself From Potential Comey Indictment After Calling Him ‘Guilty As Hell’
President Trump called former FBI Director James Comey a “sick guy” while distancing himself Thursday from a potential federal indictment that could come within days.
“I think I’d be allowed to get involved if I want, but I don’t really choose to do so… I can only say that Comey’s a bad person. He’s a sick person,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “He did terrible things at the FBI. But I don’t know. I have no idea what’s going to happen.”
Over the weekend, Trump directed a Truth Social post to Attorney General Pam Bondi, telling her to speed up prosecutions of his political enemies, calling them “guilty as hell.”
HOW WE GOT HERE
Trump fired U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert late last week for not pursuing cases against his opponents. Lindsey Halligan, a White House adviser and former Trump defense attorney with no prior prosecutorial experience, took his place as the top federal prosecutor in eastern Virginia.
Shortly after, MSNBC first reported that federal prosecutors in Virginia are preparing charges against Comey, accusing him of lying during 2020 Senate testimony — about the FBI investigation into possible but unproven Trump-Russia ties — regarding approving FBI leaks to the press.
Comey enraged both parties by reopening the Hilary Clinton email investigation in 2016 and later launching the Russia election-interference probe. His firing in 2017 paved the way for the Mueller investigation.
Why now? The five-year statute of limitations on Comey’s 2020 testimony expires this Tuesday, Sept. 30.
In Trump’s first term, the DOJ declined to prosecute, after the inspector general cleared Comey on leaking classified information.
A grand jury would still need to decide if charges move forward. Legal experts say the evidence looks thin.