Former FBI Director James Comey said he doesn’t care whether Robert Mueller finds President Trump took part in any wrongdoing as suspense builds for the long-awaited report from the special counsel.
Comey, who was fired in 2016 by Trump and has spoken critically of the president since, wrote in a New York Times op-ed, that he’s not rooting for Mueller to show that Trump is a criminal; nor is he hoping Mueller clears the president of wrongdoing.
He does hope for “maximum transparency,” he said.
“I have no idea whether the special counsel will conclude that Mr. Trump knowingly conspired with the Russians in connection with the 2016 election or that he obstructed justice with the required corrupt intent. I also don’t care. I care only that the work be done, well and completely. If it is, justice will have prevailed and core American values will have been protected at a time when so much of our national leadership has abandoned its commitment to truth and the rule of law,” Comey wrote.
Comey also discouraged impeaching the president, arguing that it would only further divide the country.
“Because if Mr. Trump were removed from office by Congress, a significant portion of this country would see this as a coup, and it would drive those people farther from the common center of American life, more deeply fracturing our country,” Comey said.
Within days of his firing, Comey leaked memos on his meetings with Trump. He told Congress under oath his goal in leaking the memos was to force the appointment of a special counsel. Muller was appointed to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election about a week after Comey’s firing.
