“The guy is a lying demagogue you can’t trust,” said the former FBI chief.
After a crowd of supporters of President Donald Trump laid siege to the United States Capitol and Trump was later accused of inciting an insurrection, former FBI director James Comey expressed concern about the general intelligence reports that Trump may be entitled to. receive after the end of his term.
“The View” co-host Ana Navarro told Comey on Friday’s show that she was bothered by the possibility that, once he stepped down, Trump could divulge confidential information to people who are not authorized to receive them or sell information to foreign opponents, such as Vladimir Putin of Russia or Kim Jong Un of North Korea.
Navarro asked Comey to detail the types of instructions Trump could receive after President-elect Joe Biden took office on January 20.
“My understanding is … the ex-presidents, not all the time, but regularly, receive general intelligence instructions on the state of the world and threats to the country,” said Comey.
He said it “makes sense” because presidents often speak publicly, both nationally and internationally, after leaving office.
“We want to give them a picture of what’s going on in the world,” said Comey. “They also receive specific information if there is a threat to them.”
Comey said that post-presidential intelligence briefings are generally “controlled” by the national intelligence director, “who will have to seriously examine whether Donald Trump should receive information, including any information that may be sensitive to the security of the United States.”
“The guy is a lying demagogue you can’t trust,” said Comey. “You want to be very, very careful about what you give him.”
“I hope he was stripped of the advantages of a former president when he was condemned by the United States Senate and prevented from taking public office,” he added. “Perhaps that is a reason for them to isolate him entirely.”
Comey’s comments come in the wake of the House vote to impeach the president on Wednesday, a week after a mass of his supporters revolted on Capitol Hill. At least five people died as a result of the violence.
Trump is the first president in U.S. history to face two charges of impeachment. It was also the largest bipartisan impeachment vote in American history.
To condemn Trump in the Senate impeachment trial, every Democratic senator will need to vote in favor of the sentencing and also win the support of 17 Republican senators. In a statement released shortly after the House passed the impeachment article on Wednesday night, McConnell said it would be better for the country to wait until Biden is sworn in next week to hold a Senate trial.
In Comey’s book, “Saving Justice: Truth, Transparency and Trust,” which he said completed in the fall of 2020, Comey wrote that if Trump faces federal charges after stepping down, Biden should consider forgiving Trump. He explained why in “The View”.
“It was a very difficult and difficult question. It is even more difficult and closer now, and I am not sure if I am right,” said Comey. “But I worry about what will happen to our country if we give it the center stage in Washington, DC”
Comey presented a scenario in which “Trump moves through the courts in DC and is there constantly as a new president tries to heal the nation, both spiritually and physically as we fight this terrible pandemic.”
“On the whole, I would prefer that he be convicted by the Senate, prevented from taking office and chased by local prosecutors in New York by the fraudster he was, before coming [into] “It would be better if we turned off the Klieg lights and chased him locally, instead of giving him the center stage while Joe Biden tries to lead us.”
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