Two years to the date after he was unceremoniously fired from his job as head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation by Donald J. Trump, James Comey took questions Thursday night at a CNN town hall hosted by Anderson Cooper. Advertisement Comey, who has previously gone on record to say he does not believe Trump is “morally fit to be president of the United States,” took questions from a town hall audience made up of students and professionals from more than a dozen states who now live in the D.C. area. Being that it was the two-year anniversary of his firing, one question Comey fielded was how he feels about that moment—one in which he found out he was fired via a television broadcast. “I was numb because I didn’t expect to be fired,” Comey said. “I knew by that point the president didn’t like me, but I thought that’s OK because that will keep a separation. So it still feels a little bit numbing, frankly, like it happened yesterday and a lifetime ago,” he said. “And then with the help of my assistant in Washington, I figured out a guy was actually down knocking on the door of the FBI in Pennsylvania saying he had a letter for me from the president that I was fired. Long before I got the letter the media was told. That’s how it happened,” Comey said. Tacky. Comey was asked about his relationship with special counsel Robert Mueller. Comey said that he respects Mueller, but that the two men “don’t have that kind of relationship.” Advertisement “He’s certainly not obsessed with me in the way others seem to be,” Comey quipped. Comey went on to say that he was not surprised by anything in the Mueller report. Advertisement “There were a lot of facts in the Mueller report that I didn’t know, but I knew it would be high-quality work if we got a chance as a country to read it. And what he describes about Russia’s intervention in our election didn’t surprise me at all. It confirmed what I knew from when I was at the [FBI]. And what he lied out about—the president’s efforts to obstruct justice was broader in scope than I personally knew, but given what I had seen, it didn’t surprise me, honestly,” he said. Comey went on to say that it looks like Trump did obstruct justice and that based on the report, he believes there is a chargeable case for obstruction and witness tampering against the president. He suggested that the DOJ should “take a serious look” at charging Trump once he is no longer president. Advertisement And then came the hammer. When asked why voters should prioritize Trump’s personal flaws over their own economic well-being, Comey kept it all the way real. Advertisement “You cannot have a president who’s a chronic liar. I don’t care what’s your passions around tax cuts or regulation or immigration—I respect difference there. The president of the United States cannot be someone who lies constantly. I thought Republicans agreed with that. It’s one of the reasons I’m no longer a Republican. I hope the American people will realize we have to start at that values level no matter what our political background and answer that question first. And if that’s a close question in an election, then get to the important policy differences.” Advertisement Whew. Speak that truth, James Comey. Speak that truth. Of course, y’all’s little “president” caught wind of what Comey had to say, so of course, he had to get on Twitter to vent. Advertisement “James Comey is a disgrace to the FBI & will go down as the worst Director in its long and once proud history. He brought the FBI down, almost all Republicans & Democrats thought he should be FIRED, but the FBI will regain greatness because of the great men & women who work there!, ” Trump wrote late Thursday night. Advertisement It’s almost as if you could take Trump’s tweet, replace Comey’s name with his and replace references to the FBI with the United States, and you’d have the perfect description of what is happening right now in this country. But y’all’s little “president” lacks too much self-awareness to realize that.<doc-sep>An audience member asked James Comey if he would ever run for office. Comey had an easy answer. "No, never," he said firmly. "I admire good people that run for office. We need good people on both sides of the aisle running for office. It's not my thing," he said, adding that there are other ways to contribute and to serve your community and country without running. He said he would, however, canvas for Democrats in the upcoming election because he believes in oversight of the president.<doc-sep>WASHINGTON – James Comey looked straight into the camera in June 2017 as he uttered his first public denunciation of President Donald Trump. “Those were lies, plain and simple,” the former FBI director said, as millions of Americans watched his dramatic testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Comey still uses that word – “lies” – when he talks about Trump, most recently on Thursday in a CNN town hall where he called Trump a “chronic liar” who should not be in office. His penchant for metaphors came through in a recent New York Times op-ed in which he described the president as an “amoral leader” who devours the souls of better men. And in a scathing interview with USA TODAY last year, he declared Trump “morally unfit to be president.” Comey's outrage has spilled onto the party to which he once belonged – he has urged Americans to vote for Democrats in 2020. He’s a quirky Twitter celebrity whose page is an amalgam of pensive nature photos, dad jokes and urgent calls for the public to remove the president who removed him. The CNN forum, which coincided with the second anniversary of his firing by Trump, was only the latest instance in which he garnered the spotlight. Though the town hall format is usually reserved for presidential candidates, Comey dismissed the notion that he is considering a run for public office, saying he'd "never" do so. Still, Comey's immersion into politics is a stark contrast to the world of secrecy and discreetness at the FBI, making him a more polarizing figure in the Trump era. Supporters see his voice as a check on a commander-in-chief whose behavior they find disturbing. But Comey's detractors believe the former FBI director's disdain for Trump influenced the counterintelligence investigation on Russia and the president's campaign. They contend the FBI was biased against Trump. Views on impeachment:Comey says voters should hold Trump accountable in 2020 'landslide,' opposes impeachment Exclusive:James Comey strikes back against 'morally unfit' Donald Trump in scathing interview Comey isn't just a former FBI director. He's a former FBI director whose actions are consequential to the president. He wrote memos detailing his private conversations with Trump, some of which he found troubling. He orchestrated the release of those memos' contents, hoping to prompt a special counsel's appointment. And those memos became part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation that ultimately begat a damaging inside account of Trump's behavior. During the CNN town hall, Comey said Trump would have been prosecuted for obstruction of justice if not for the office he holds. For Comey’s critics, every public condemnation risks reinforcing the perception that he – and therefore the FBI – played in favor of one side over the other. And every criticism places the bureau in a perilous place: in the cross hairs of partisan politics. “He is telling the world now that he thinks the president is amoral. That opinion just didn’t come out of thin air on the day he was fired,” said Mark Morgan, a career FBI official who was an assistant director under Comey. “As a former director of the FBI, when he speaks, he still brings the full force of credibility of that position, and so he’s not an average citizen when he speaks, and he knows that … Every time he speaks, every time he does an op-ed, he continues to do damage to the FBI.” Unchartered waters Comey declined to be interviewed. His supporters say he found himself in unchartered waters from the moment the president asked him to “lift the cloud” of the Russia investigation that has loomed over the administration. A voice like Comey’s, supporters say, is critical at a time when the president attacks and spreads falsehoods about the country’s institutions, including the FBI. “Clearly, he could stay out of the spotlight. He didn’t have to write a book, doesn’t have to write speeches, doesn’t have to speak out,” said Greg Brower, who was the FBI’s assistant director for the Office of Congressional Affairs. But, Brower said: “He just feels strongly that people need to know what he knows and what he experienced.” “I admire the fact that he’s not afraid to be public about this,” Brower said. Friction between Comey and Trump has only intensified. Views on whether the public needs to keep hearing from the controversial FBI director is just as divided as today’s partisan government. Where there seems to be consensus is that Comey’s post-FBI persona could have a lasting impact on the institution he once led, whether or not he intended to. A ‘self-serving’ endeavor or a public service? Comey was a beloved FBI director lauded by rank-and-file employees, according to an annual survey of employees. Even for some of his harshest critics, he was a decent leader. He valued diversity in hiring and won the support of women and minorities at the agency, said Bobby Chacon, a former special agent who retired in 2014, during Comey’s second year as director. He was intelligent, affable, and an effective communicator, said Morgan, who left the bureau in 2016 and whom Trump recently tapped to lead the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The turning point, at least for some, happened on July 5, 2016, when Comey departed from FBI policy by delivering a blistering criticism of Hillary Clinton, even as he announced that the then-Democratic presidential candidate would not face charges for her use of a private email server as secretary of state. Comey's decision to share his memos with a friend, who then shared their contents to a reporter, is “when he absolutely lost me,” said Morgan, who sees his former boss's public life as a “self-serving” endeavor. Comey town hall:'No doubt' Trump would be charged with obstruction if not president Like what you're reading? :Download the USA TODAY app for more “I have no problem with him pushing back on Trump’s criticism of the FBI, but he has taken it way, way beyond that point,” Chacon said. Comey defended the FBI again on Thursday, pushing back against notion that the bureau spied on the Trump campaign, a claim that president had made repeatedly.<doc-sep>CEO of ADL: Seeing a 'blitzkrieg of anti-Jewish' acts across US Dana Bash: This is so telling about where the Republican party is NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 24: Trump Tower stands on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on August 24, 2018 in New York City. Following new allegations over hush money that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen paid to an adult-film actress, the Manhattan district attorneyÕs office in New York City may seek criminal charges against the Trump Organization in the coming days. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Why GOP is standing in the way of Capitol riot investigation WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 08: US Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-VA) remarks on the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at the US Capitol November 8, 2006 in Washington, DC. Warner said he supports President George W. Bush's nomination of former CIA Director Robert Gates for Secretary of Defense. Warner said he anticipates Gates' confirmation before the end of the year. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), joined by Senate Assistant Minority Leader John Thune (R-SD) (L) and Senate Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO), speaks following a Senate Republican Policy luncheon at the Russell Senate Office Building on May 18, 2021 in Washington, DC. Hear what Matt Gaetz said about Paul Ryan before his speech Former GOP senator: If McConnell said this, 'it's shameful' 'Some people have no shame': Biden calls out GOP lawmakers with list (CNN) — Former FBI Director James Comey said Thursday that it is possible the Russians have leverage over President Donald Trump. CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked Comey at a town hall in Washington, “Do you think the Russians have leverage over President Trump?” “I don’t know the answer to that,” Comey responded. “Think it’s possible?” Cooper asked. “Yes,” Comey responded, without hesitation. Comey was speaking at a town hall two years after Trump had fired him, citing Comey’s handling of the probe into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. The former FBI director’s comments come amid a looming constitutional battle between Trump and congressional Democrats over special counsel Robert Mueller’s report into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Mueller’s report found that no member of the Trump campaign had criminally conspired with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election. However, the special counsel did detail multiple contacts between Trump campaign officials and Russians, and Mueller wrote that the campaign did expect to benefit from Russia’s actions surrounding the 2016 presidential election. But no campaign officials took criminal steps to help, Mueller wrote. In an interview last year, Comey said there was one specific incident he had discussed with the President regarding a videotape of Trump in Russia that was part of a dossier of information circulated before the 2016 election. “Honestly, I never thought these words would come out of my mouth, but I don’t know whether the current President of the United States was with prostitutes peeing on each other in Moscow in 2013,” Comey said to ABC News. “It’s possible, but I don’t know.” Mueller wrote in his report that he could not clear Trump of obstruction of justice. His report cites numerous cases where the President had asked his aides to take actions that would have obstructed his probe, but the aides refused Trump’s orders. The FBI’s justification in opening the obstruction of justice case went beyond Trump’s firing of Comey, CNN previously reported, and included the President’s conversation with Comey in the Oval Office asking him to drop the investigation into his former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Comey has been a frequent critic of the President, and said at a previous CNN town hall, “I don’t believe (Trump) is morally fit to be President of the United States.”<doc-sep>
Former FBI Director James Comey said in a TV appearance Thursday that he hopes President Trump isn’t impeached, he wants him voted out of office instead — and Trump soon blasted back at him on twitter. During a CNN Town Hall, Comey said “I kinda hope there isn’t an impeachment because I think it will leave us in a situation where we’re kind of off the hook.” Comey, who was fired by Trump in 2017, branded the president “a chronic liar” and said he should be defeated at the ballot box instead. “We need an election where the American people stand up and say, ‘We have important differences over immigration and guns and abortion and really important issues, but we have something in common and it’s non-negotiable. Our president must reflect the values of this country,” he said. Comey also said “It sure looks that way from the report’s factual recitation” when asked by host Anderson Cooper if he believed the Mueller Report showed that Trump obstructed justice. After the CNN segment, Trump raged against the former FBI boss on twitter. “James Comey is a disgrace to the FBI & will go down as the worst Director in its long and once proud history. He brought the FBI down, almost all Republicans & Democrats thought he should be FIRED, but the FBI will regain greatness because of the great men & women who work there!” In another part of the interview, Comey said “no, never,” when asked if he would ever run for office. “I admire good people that run for office. We need good people on both sides of the aisle running for office. It’s not my thing,” he said, adding there are other ways to contribute to the country. Several democrats have called for Trump’s impeachment following the release of a redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the Russia probe.