Former FBI director James Comey tweeted on Thursday to praise his former agency for rebuffing “weasels and liars” amid tensions over a classified memo that reportedly alleges abuses of power by the FBI and Department of Justice.
All should appreciate the FBI speaking up. I wish more of our leaders would. But take heart: American history shows that, in the long run, weasels and liars never hold the field, so long as good people stand up. Not a lot of schools or streets named for Joe McCarthy.
— James Comey (@Comey) February 1, 2018
“All should appreciate the FBI speaking up,” Comey said in the tweet. “I wish more of our leaders would. But take heart: American history shows that, in the long run, weasels and liars never hold the field, so long as good people stand up.”
The House Intelligence Committee voted to release the memo on Monday, and President Donald Trump is reportedly expected to approve its release. But in a rare public statement, the FBI said in a statement Wednesday that it has “grave concerns” about inaccuracies and omissions of information in the document.
The controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) memo, written by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), reportedly alleges that the FBI obtained a warrant to surveil former Trump adviser Carter Page during the 2016 election and that the Department of Justice and FBI purposefully misled the FISA court using a document called the Steele dossier.
The alleged contents of the memo have created a firestorm of controversy, inspired conspiracy theories, and prompted #ReleasetheMemo.
“Not a lot of schools or streets named for Joe McCarthy,” Comey added in his tweet, referring to the former senator who led Cold War-era probes of people he believed to be communists infiltrating the U.S. government.
Trump’s announcement about the release of the memo is expected Friday.
H/T the Hill