Former FBI chief James Comey has taken a swipe at President Donald Trump’s persistent criticism of the agency, saying that it had deeply worried his family and made his mother-in-law think that he was going to jail.
"Every time we would visit she would express that worry", Comey said speaking to CNN's Anderson Cooper. "I would tell her, look, it's all made up. There's zero chance of that", he said, further stating that she believes what is reported in the news:
“She believes what she sees on television and she's not unlike millions of others who are drinking this in for two years. So where does the FBI go to get its reputation back? We have to talk about this result", Comey expressed his concern about the rehabilitation of the agency.
The former bureau chief then went on to address a Monday report by the Department of Justice that concluded that the FBI launched its investigation into the Trump 2016 campaign rightfully and without being biased, admitting, though, that some errors had occurred.
Comey commented on the report right after the publication, writing in his op-ed:
"On Monday, we learned from a report by the Justice Department's inspector general, Michael Horowitz, that the allegation of a criminal conspiracy was nonsense", he contended.
"There was no illegal wiretapping, there were no informants inserted into the campaign, there was no 'spying' on the Trump campaign. Although it took two years, the truth is finally out", said the former high-ranking official dismissed by Donald Trump in May 2017.
The op-ed then goes on to take a swipe at Attorney General William Barr, who questioned the findings in the report, with Comey noting that Barr "owes the institution he leads, and the American people, an acknowledgment of the truth".
Barr and John Durham, the US attorney he specially picked to lead the probe into the origins of the alleged Russia collusion, ripped the FBI on Monday, with the attorney general accusing the agency of launching what he dubbed “an intrusive investigation” into the Trump campaign based on the “thinnest of suspicions”.
Trump opted for his trademark strong wording on Monday, blasting the FBI investigation as “an attempted overthrow” and “an embarrassment".