Former FBI Director James Comey chided Rudy Giuliani on Thursday for calling FBI agents “stormtroopers” because of the way they raided one of President Trump’s lawyer.
“I know the New York FBI. There are no ‘stormtroopers’ there; just a group of people devoted to the rule of law and the truth. Our country would be better off if our leaders tried to be like them, rather than comparing them to Nazis,” Comey tweeted Thursday.
I know the New York FBI. There are no “stormtroopers” there; just a group of people devoted to the rule of law and the truth. Our country would be better off if our leaders tried to be like them, rather than comparing them to Nazis.
— James Comey (@Comey) May 3, 2018
Comey was referencing a comment from Giuliani, a new member of Trump’s legal team, during an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Wednesday night. While discussing a $130,000 payment Michael Cohen, Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, made to former adult film actress Stormy Daniels, Giuliani brought up the FBI’s raid of Cohen’s home, hotel room and office.
“I was talking about the $130,000 payment—the settlement payment, which is a very regular thing for lawyers to do. The question there was, the only possible violation there would be: Was it a campaign finance violation?” Giuliani said. “Which usually results in a fine, by the way, not this big stormtroopers coming in and breaking down his apartment and breaking down his office.”
The FBI conducted its raid last month and seized documents related to a number of topics, including the payment Cohen made to Daniels.
Federal prosecutors obtained the search warrant after receiving a referral from special counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
