President Trump on Monday chided former FBI officials who worked on the Russia probe, including ex-Director James Comey and one-time Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, calling them “dirty cops” and “known scoundrels.”
“The people doing that investigation were people that have been caught that are known scoundrels there,” Trump told reporters at the White House before departing for New Orleans. “I guess you could say they’re dirty cops.”
Trump specifically referenced Comey, McCabe and former FBI officials Lisa Page and Peter Strzok, who were found to have exchanged derogatory text messages about Trump.
The president’s comment comes amid a New York Times report that after Trump fired Comey, the FBI opened a counterintelligence investigation to examine whether Trump was working on behalf of Russia. Part of the investigation involved whether the president obstructed justice when he ousted Comey in May 2017.
Trump has long defended his decision to fire Comey and often takes to Twitter to criticize McCabe, Strzok, and Page.
“What happened with the FBI, I have done a great service for our country when I fired James Comey, because he was a bad cop and he was a dirty cop,” Trump told reporters Monday. “He lied. He really lied.”
