Former FBI Director James Comey berated Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for what he said is complicity in President Trump’s behavior.
Writing in a New York Times op-ed published Wednesday, Comey was astonished at the Justice Department officials’ defense of the president in the aftermath of the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s redacted report on his Russia investigation.
“What happened to these people?” asked Comey, who was fired by Trump in 2017.
“Proximity to an amoral leader reveals something depressing. I think that’s at least part of what we’ve seen with Bill Barr and Rod Rosenstein. Accomplished people lacking inner strength can’t resist the compromises necessary to survive Mr. Trump and that adds up to something they will never recover from,” he said.
The complicity begins, Comey said, when Trump goes unchallenged by administration officials when he lies. It continues with “public displays of personal fealty” and with silence when Trump attacks institutions and values.
“Trump eats your soul in small bites,” he wrote.
“You use his language, praise his leadership, tout his commitment to values. And then you are lost. He has eaten your soul,” Comey said.
The op-ed was published as Barr testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Comey accused Barr of downplaying alleged obstruction of justice by the president, which Barr described as Trump being “frustrated and angry.” He also slammed Rosenstein for thanking Trump upon announcing his resignation.
