Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., on Wednesday warned former FBI Director James Comey that he could end up at the center of a criminal conspiracy to undermine President Trump’s 2016 campaign.
“He’s worried, and he should be, that Mr. Barr … is going to look further into the genesis of the investigation of the Trump campaign,” Kennedy said during an appearance on “America’s Newsroom.” “I think they’re going to find that all roads lead to Mr. Comey.”
Since being fired by Trump in 2017, Comey has been a vocal critic of the president, insisting he was removed because the department, under his watch, opened an investigation into possible contacts between the Trump campaign and Russians seeking to influence the election.
.@SenJohnKennedy says @Comey “never was a law enforcement professional.”
“He’s worried, and he should be, that Mr. Barr … is going to look further into the genesis of the investigation of the Trump campaign.”
Kennedy said Barr is likely to find “all roads lead back to Comey.” pic.twitter.com/HuPGYiKiO4
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) May 8, 2019
During congressional testimony earlier this month, Attorney General William Barr said he believes that investigation was sparked by illegal spying done by officials in the top levels of the FBI.
[Related: Comey: ‘The FBI doesn’t spy, the FBI investigates’]
“I don’t know what he’s talking about,” Comey told “CBS This Morning.” “The FBI doesn’t spy, the FBI investigates. We investigated a very serious allegation that Americans might be hooked up with the Russian effort to attack our democracy. The Republicans need to breathe into a paper bag.”
Kennedy said he and his GOP colleagues in the Senate are breathing just fine.
“It’s clear to most Americans that Mr. Comey is not and never was a law enforcement professional. He’s just a hack politician,” Kennedy said.
The president has repeatedly referred to Comey as a “liar” and a “leaker” who should be prosecuted for abusing his power at one of the country’s most powerful law enforcement agencies.
Comey often attacks Trump personally, saying he is unfit for office and should be removed.
[Also read: James Comey: Trump eating the souls of Barr, Rosenstein]
In a recent op-ed in the New York Times Comey wrote Trump’s selfishness was “eating the souls” of otherwise good officials, such as Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
Meanwhile, Republicans on Capitol Hill have seized on Barr’s comments and other details in special counsel Robert Mueller’s report as evidence that a so-called deep state worked against Trump in 2016 and sought to prevent him from winning.
Kennedy said Comey is likely to be discovered as the driving force behind that push — one that will have a lasting impact on the bureau and the American public’s trust in its political impartiality.
“Why he did what he did I don’t know,” he said. “But it is breathtaking to the extent that he has hurt the FBI … and we need to work hard to get their reputation back thanks to Mr. Comey’s tarnishing of that agency.”
