Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, says she was “stunned” when former FBI Director James Comey revealed during his public testimony on Thursday that he asked a friend to leak information.
“I must admit that I did not know and It came as a big surprise to me. In fact, I was stunned at the revelation,” Collins said during an appearance on MSNBC. “When I asked the question, I wondered whom the director had shown his memos to.”
Comey admitted the story behind the leak after Sen. Susan Collins asked him why he kept a memo of a conversation with President Trump and asked if he ever shared any memos outside the Justice Department.
Asked by host Chuck Todd if she thought Comey’s actions were appropriate, the moderate Republican said no.
“I don’t think it was appropriate,” she said. “I would argue that that was a government-produced document. It was work document. And I think it qualifies as a leak. The irony is that the former director of the FBI has always been very annoyed when there are leaks. And then it turns out that he leaked a document himself.”
Comey said he gave the memo to a friend of his who is a professor of law at Columbia Law School. The memo later was published in a New York Times report. Daniel Richman confirmed to the Washington Examiner that he was that friend.
