Former FBI Director James B. Comey said Saturday he’s not worried about a Justice Department criminal probe into the reasons his office investigated the Trump campaign in 2016, but he cautioned the federal prosecutor leading the probe to guard against influence from “those in leadership.”
“I am not worried about a single thing in connection with any of the matters under investigation,” Mr. Comey said at the annual Politicon conference in Nashville, Tennessee. “Gather the facts, write a report and share it with the American people.”
U.S. Attorney John Durham, tapped by Attorney General William P. Barr to investigate the origins of the FBI’s 2016 probe of possible Russian collusion with the Trump campaign, is low leading a criminal investigation. The president speculated Friday that it could implicate top former FBI officials including Mr. Comey for wrongly obtaining a court’s permission to conduct surveillance of a Trump campaign official and others.
Mr. Comey said he has been “deeply concerned” about Mr. Barr’s earlier characterization of the FBI’s actions as “spying” on the Trump campaign.
“I can’t tell what is going on with the attorney general and that investigation,” he said. “I don’t know what they are looking at, so I’m not in a position to say you should not investigate.”
He said Mr. Durham has “a strong reputation.”
“I would hope that Mr. Durham will do everything possible to protect his reputation from being damaged by those in the leadership,” Mr. Comey said. “And the most important way to do that is to give us transparency. I’m confident that when the American people see the picture of why we did what we did, their confidence in the institution will be maintained restored and protected.”
The former FBI director also said that the House of Representatives “has no choice” but to move forward with an impeachment inquiry into Mr. Trump after the president’s appeals to Ukraine’s leader to investigate Joseph R. Biden and his son, Hunter.
“The House has no choice but to pursue an impeachment inquiry,” Mr. Comey said. “It’s certainly powerful grounds to investigate. If the news accounts are accurate, the president engaged in a shocking abuse of power.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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