Rep. Trey Gowdy slammed former FBI Director James Comey for minimizing his leak of classified memos to the public, saying anybody else would easily identify his actions as a crime.
During an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier, Comey dismissed his actions in leaking the memos which rehashed personal interactions with the President, several of which have been marked either classified or secret.
Baier questioned Comey on whether or not the memos constituted a “work product.”
“No, it was not. It was my personal aide to memoir,” Comey replied. “I carried two copies of it. One to keep in my personal safe at home, and I left another one at the FBI so the bureau could always have access to it. But I always thought of it as mine, like a diary.”
James Comey’s Memos are Classified, I did not Declassify them. They belong to our Government! Therefore, he broke the law! Additionally, he totally made up many of the things he said I said, and he is already a proven liar and leaker. Where are Memos on Clinton, Lynch & others?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2018
He’s either playing CYA, or he’s woefully ignorant. The only way those documents can be considered a ‘personal diary’ is if he were a private citizen or a reporter and the conversation was on the record. A private meeting between the President of the United States and the Director of the FBI does not allow for a release of any notes or memos.
Congressman Gowdy agrees, saying Comey “has a definition of the word leak that no one else has.”
.@TGowdySC on @Comey #SpecialReport interview: “Jim Comey has a definition of the word ‘leak’ that no one else has. What he says is a leak is what the rest of us call a felony.” #Tucker https://t.co/RggSJ7Gsfm pic.twitter.com/vgnnMXBlhc
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 27, 2018
“What he says is a leak is what the rest of us call a felony,” he added. “Leaking is disclosing a confidential conversation which is exactly what he did.”
Gowdy would know, he’s a former federal prosecutor.
The South Carolina Republican went on to shred Comey for having a double standard when it comes to Clinton or Trump lying and suggests he needs to explain discrepancies between what he said in the Baier interview and what he told Congress.
Specifically, he spoke of Comey’s inability to recall being told by agents that President Trump’s former National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, was likely not lying to investigators.
Multiple sources confirmed that Comey told lawmakers the FBI agents who interviewed Flynn did not believe that he had lied to them, or that any misstatements were intentional.
“Director Comey’s recollection is flawed if he does not remember telling Congress that his agents told him that they didn’t think Flynn was lying,” Gowdy insisted.
“He needs to get his lawyers and go back and look at the transcript.”
Did Comey commit a felony in leaking classified documents? Tell us your thoughts below!
