Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich criticized President Trump Sunday for botching the release of Deputy Attorney Rod Rosenstein’s memo outlining problems with fired FBI Director James Comey.
“First of all, I urge everybody to read the original Rosenstein memo about Comey, which Trump totally mishandled,” Gingrich said during a panel on “Fox News Sunday.”
“What Trump should have done is released that memo in a state of shock. Let the country, through Sunday talk shows, deal with the memo. It’s devastating. It’s clear that if you got that memo and you’re the president, you would have fired Comey,” he continued.
Rosenstein’s memo was touted as a formal justification for Trump to dismiss Comey in May 2017, a decision which resulted in the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller.
Gingrich’s comments follow concerns Rosenstein may himself be ousted over his approval of an FBI raid of the office and home of Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal lawyer.
Cohen’s personal business dealings are being investigated by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York’s office, but reports indicate communications between Trump and Cohen may have been seized during the raid.
“This whole thing is a circus and I think we need to understand that. We’re not dealing with a traditional, legal process. We are dealing with a highly politicized process,” Gingrich added.
