After Comey Kicked Off 2018 with a Subtle Jab at Trump, Twitter Immediately Made Him Pay
Former FBI director James Comey took an apparent jab at President Donald Trump in a New Year’s Eve tweet, writing his hope that “2018 brings more ethical leadership.”
Comey tweeted on Sunday afternoon that he wanted to see “ethical leadership, focused on the truth and lasting values.”
Trump removed Comey from office in May 2017, citing the director’s handling of the investigation into former Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton’s private email server as well as the overall state of the bureau.
“It is essential that we find new leadership for the FBI that restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission,” the president said at the time, according to Politico.
Comey had already prepared a draft exonerating Clinton of wrongdoing regarding her unsecured, unauthorized email server two months before announcing the decision in early July 2016.
The document was drafted prior to the bureau interviewing Clinton and other key witnesses, including top aide Huma Abedin.
Fox News reported last month that key portions of Comey’s statement were changed from a May 2 draft, including describing her actions as “grossly negligent.”
The description was legally significant, carrying the implication that Clinton was in violation of federal law; however, that language was changed to “extremely careless.”
Additionally, Fox learned that another key portion of the Comey statement was changed. The original statement said the FBI found it “reasonably likely” that “hostile actors” had gained access to Clinton’s server. The final document said that was was “possible.”
According to FNC, Peter Strzok, a former deputy to the assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI, was the person who changed the language from “grossly negligent” to “extremely careless.”
Text messages released the the Department of Justice’s Inspector General showed Strzok had a strongly anti-Trump bias.
In the texts, Strzok described Trump during the 2016 campaign as a “loathsome human” and an “idiot,” and found the prospect him being president “terrifying,” CNN reported.
His alleged mistress, FBI attorney Lisa Page, texted Strzok, “There is no way he gets elected,” to which he replied, “I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office …that there’s no way he gets elected — but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.”
Andy apparently referred to then-Deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe, serving under Comey.
In light of these revelations, many responded negatively to Comey’s Sunday tweet.
In a tweet last week, Trump described the FBI as “tainted.”
Last month he told reporters, “It’s a shame what’s happened with the FBI, but we’re going to rebuild the FBI. It will be bigger and better than ever.”
“The level of anger at what (Americans) have been witnessing with respect to the FBI is certainly very sad.”
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