Former FBI Director James Comey and Republican North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows clashed on Twitter over the impending Justice Department inspector general report on alleged surveillance abuses.
Meadows, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, suggested Comey has stayed out of the spotlight because he is nervous about the watchdog’s assessment.
“As the IG report on Comey approaches, we’re getting the sound of silence. No Comey tweets. No softball interviews. Must be tougher when you get questioned by a DOJ Inspector General. The truth is coming. His actions will come to light. And the verdict won’t be pretty,” Meadows tweeted Thursday.
About an hour later, Comey shot back.
“I love transparency. I just wait for facts before I talk about them. I’m confident the results of all IG reports will show honest public servants worked hard to protect this country from a threat this president and his enablers won’t acknowledge. And @ me next time, bruh,” he said.
I love transparency. I just wait for facts before I talk about them. I’m confident the results of all IG reports will show honest public servants worked hard to protect this country from a threat this president and his enablers won’t acknowledge. And @ me next time, bruh. https://t.co/0yTNgV2K4F
— James Comey (@Comey) August 2, 2019
Horowitz is expected to wrap up his investigation into alleged Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuses next month.
Although he has not finished his report, Horowitz sent a referral to the Justice Department about memos Comey leaked to a friend to give to the press, a move he testified was done in the hopes they would spark a special counsel investigation. Although prosecutors found the watchdog’s findings compelling, they decided against prosecution under classified information protection laws because of there being too much uncertainty regarding Comey’s intent.
Comey signed three of the four FISA applications targeting former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, which is a focus of Horowitz’s investigation. Those FBI applications relied on a dossier compiled by British ex-spy Christopher Steele, which has largely been discredited.
The Justice Department, which is engaged in a review of the Russia investigation’s origins, could take prosecutorial action, depending on the findings and recommendations from the independent watchdog.
