Republicans are launching a pre-emptive strike against former FBI Director James B. Comey’s credibility, labeling him “Lyin’ Comey” in advance of his book and publicity tour in which he is expected to trash President Trump.
Mr. Comey, whom the president fired last year and has a history of clashing with Mr. Trump, will embark on a national tour next week in support of his book, “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies & Leadership.”
In taped interview with ABC News to air Sunday, Mr. Comey compares Mr. Trump to a “mob boss,” according to Axios.
Mr. Comey’s TV interviews and public appearances are as hotly anticipated as his book, which has already reached best-seller status on Amazon.
CNN will feature Mr. Comey in an hour-long town hall event hosted by Anderson Cooper. MSNBC and Fox News also have lined up interviews with the former FBI director.
To soften up Mr. Comey, the Republican National Committee hit the former FBI director with a website and video clips that highlight top Democratic lawmakers slamming him for botching his job and lacking credibility.
The quotes were culled from the enormous backlash from Democrats after Mr. Comey reopened the Hillary Clinton email investigation just days before the 2016 presidential election.
It includes Mrs. Clinton saying he “badly overstepped his bounds,” and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer saying “I do not have confidence in [Mr. Comey] any longer.”
In a video on the website, Mr. Comey ridiculed by high-profile Democrats including House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, 2016 Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Tim Kaine, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernard Sanders and House Intelligence Committee ranking member Adam Schiff.
“All I can tell you is the FBI director has no credibility,” says Rep. Maxine Waters, a California Democrat and outspoken critic of Mr. Trump.
The Democrats’ criticism of Mr. Comey’s job performance is used to combat his assertions that he was unjustly fired by Mr. Turmp.
“While Democrats feigned outrage over President Trump’s firing of James Comey, they had long questioned Comey’s ability to lead the FBI and even called for him to be fired,” the RNC writes on the website.
After Mr. Trump fired him as FBI director last year, Mr. Comey then leaked accounts of his conversations with the president in hopes of spurring a special counsel investigation.
Mr. Comey’s honesty in relating those conversations and his stating under oath that he “never leaked” are highlighted on the by the RNC.
The “Lyin’ Comey” website also portrays him as a politically motivated Washington insider.
At various times, Mr. Comey has been reviled by both parties.
Republicans blasted him for clearing Mrs. Clinton in the investigation of her using a secret and unauthorized email setup as secretary of state.
Democrats called foul when he reopened the investigation days before the election because more of Mrs. Clinton’s emails were discovered on the laptop computer of Anthony Weiner, a disgraced former congressman who was married to top Clinton aide Huma Abedin.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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