Former FBI Director James Comey sounded exasperated when he recalled how he testified again last week about Hillary Clinton’s emails during a closed-door interview with two House committees.
Comey says House Republicans asked about Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.
He says GOP lawmakers focused ‘a whole lot’ on Clinton’s emails, telling reporters that a transcript of the six-hour interview “will bore you.”
“When you read the transcript, you will see that we are talking again about Hillary Clinton’s emails, for heaven’s sakes, so I’m not sure we need to do this at all,” Comey told reporters.
“But I’m trying to respect the institution and to answer questions in a respectful way.”
Republicans say Comey and other Justice Department officials were biased against Donald Trump as they investigated his campaign’s ties with Russia and cleared Clinton in a separate probe into her email use.
Comey says he will be back at the Capitol for another closed-door interview the week of December 17.
Both Democrats and Republicans are angry at Comey over his handling of the Clinton email probe.
In June, the Justice Department’s internal watchdog rebuked Comey for making a ‘serious error of judgment’ when he announced he was reopening the probe.
But Inspector General Michael Horowitz also concluded in a long-awaited, 500-page report that Comey did not exhibit political bias or try to influence the election; nor did he contest the decision not to charge Clinton with a crime.
Trump fired him as head of the FBI in May 2017, prompting the appointment of a special counsel now pursuing the Russia probe.
In a Twitter rage Sunday morning, Trump accused Comey of lying to House Republicans.
Comey’s closed-door testimony—a transcript of which was released Saturday night—revealed that the FBI had started investigating “four Americans” in the summer of 2016 for potential connections to Russian election meddling.
“All lies!” Trump wrote.
On 245 occasions, former FBI Director James Comey told House investigators he didn’t know, didn’t recall, or couldn’t remember things when asked. Opened investigations on 4 Americans (not 2) – didn’t know who signed off and didn’t know Christopher Steele. All lies!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 9, 2018
A few minutes later, he followed up: “Leakin’ James Comey must have set a record for who lied the most to Congress in one day. His Friday testimony was so untruthful!” Trump also called the Russia investigation a “Rigged Fraud.”
Leakin’ James Comey must have set a record for who lied the most to Congress in one day. His Friday testimony was so untruthful! This whole deal is a Rigged Fraud headed up by dishonest people who would do anything so that I could not become President. They are now exposed!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 9, 2018
Comey appeared exasperated and fired his own shots on Twitter, criticizing the Republican-led inquiry as a “desperate attempt to find anything that can be used to attack the institutions of justice investigating this president.”
Today wasn’t a search for truth, but a desperate attempt to find anything that can be used to attack the institutions of justice investigating this president. They came up empty today but will try again. In the long run, it'll make no difference because facts are stubborn things.
— James Comey (@Comey) December 8, 2018
Comey also directly contradicted Trump’s claims that Comey is “best friends” with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, saying the two are “not friends in any social sense.”