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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 2 May 2018

Comey: Trump's attacks on the FBI make America less safe

By ERIC TUCKER and CHAD possible obstruction of jus- sieged by allegations of
DAY tice. The White House ini- political bias following
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- tially said Trump had fired anti-Trump text messages
dent Donald Trump's po- him over his handling of the between two senior FBI of-
litical attacks on the FBI Hillary Clinton email case, ficials who were, for a time,
make America less safe but the president later said working on Mueller's investi-
because they undermine he was thinking of "this Rus- gation.
public confidence that the sia thing" when he made Comey told the AP the text
bureau is an "honest, com- the move. exchanges reflected "ex-
petent and independent" Comey is now promoting tremely poor judgment" on
institution, fired director his new book, "A Higher the part of the officials.
James Comey told The As- Loyalty," and has given a "The question I have to an-
sociated Press on Tuesday. series of interviews in which swer is: 'Should I have done
In a telephone interview, he has described his inter- more to communicate to
Comey also said it was actions with the president — especially to the people
logical that special counsel and characterized him as working on the most sensi-
Robert Mueller would seek morally unfit for office. tive matters — a standard Former FBI director James Comey speaks to George Washing-
to interview Trump since But his departure from the of behavior?' And that's a ton University students during a stop on his book tour Monday,
the president is a subject bureau has also been fol- fair question," Comey said. April 30, 2018, in Washington.
of an investigation into Rus- lowed by a cascade of But he also said many of Associated Press
sian meddling in the 2016 negative headlines that the attacks, including on
presidential election. Com- seem to have given am- McCabe, were politically as president-elect on the though he declined to give
ey ruled out seeking elect- munition to critics of the FBI, motivated and driven by existence of salacious al- Congress the same public
ed office and said that, as including Trump. "the president's effort to un- legations in a dossier com- reassurance.
a leader, he took responsi- For one thing, Comey is dermine the rule of law and piled as political opposition "If I was still going to be in
bility for some of the turmoil involved in an unusually the credibility of the entire research. And he said he the position of having to
that has surrounded the FBI public disagreement with institution." Asked about his probably made the right brief him privately, had I
in recent months. his former deputy direc- interactions with the presi- call by informing Trump not said that, what would
The ex-FBI chief said it was tor, Andrew McCabe, over dent, Comey defended that he wasn't personally have happened thereaf-
clear the president's blister- the authorization of a news his decision to brief Trump under investigation even ter?" Comey said.q
ing attacks on the bureau, media disclosure. McCabe
including Trump's calls for was fired in March amid a
scrutiny of his political op- report from the Justice De-
ponents and his sugges- partment's inspector gen-
tion that Comey should be eral that concluded he
jailed, affect public safety had misled internal affairs
in "hundreds and thou- investigators.
sands of ways" — espe- Comey declined to say if
cially if crime victims no lon- he thought McCabe's firing
ger believe that an agent was appropriate, but he
knocking on their door will did say the FBI should hold
help them or that an agent people accountable "in
testifying before a jury can situations where they think
be believed. they've been less than can-
"To the extent there's been did."
a marginal decrease in In addition, the watchdog
their credibility at that door- office is examining how
way, in that courtroom and Comey wrote and stored
in thousands of other ways, memos that document-
their effectiveness is hit. So ed his conversations with
it's hard," Comey said. Trump. He provided one of
"You're not going to be the memos to a friend and
able to see it, but logic tells told him to disclose the sub-
me that it's there, which is stance of it to the media in
why it's so important that hopes of getting a special
we knock it off as a political counsel appointed. That
culture." memo was unclassified, but
Trump fired Comey last Trump has repeatedly criti-
May, an act now under in- cized Comey as a "leaker."
vestigation by Mueller for The FBI also has been be-