“The guy is a lying demagogue you can’t trust,” the former FBI chief said.
After a large number of supporters of President Donald Trump staged a siege of the US Capitol and Trump was later indicted for inciting an insurrection, former FBI Director James Comey expressed concern over general information sessions which Trump could receive after the end of his term.
Co-host of The View, Ana Navarro, told Comey on Friday that she was disturbed by the possibility that, once he leaves office, Trump could divulge sensitive information to people who are not authorized to receive or sell information to foreign opponents. such as the Russian Vladimir Putin or the Korean Kim Jong Un.
Navarro asked Comey to detail the types of information Trump could receive after the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on January 20th.
“My understanding is that former presidents are provided, not all the time, but on a regular basis, with general information about the state of the world and threats to the country,” Comey said.
He said it “makes sense” because presidents often speak publicly both domestically and internationally after leaving office.
“We want to give them a picture of what’s going on in the world,” Comey said. “They are also given specific information if there is a threat to them.”
Comey said post-presidential briefings are usually “controlled” by the director of national intelligence, “who will have to look very closely to see if 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,” Comey said. “You want to be very, very careful about what you offer him.”
“I hope he will be removed from the benefits of a former president, being condemned by the US Senate and banned from holding public office,” he added. “Perhaps this will be a reason to interrupt him altogether.”
Comey’s comments come after the House vote for the president’s indictment on Wednesday, a week after a mass of his supporters revolted on Capitol Hill. At least five people have died as a result of the violence.
Trump is the first president in US history to be charged twice. It was also the largest bipartisan removal vote in American history.
To convict Trump in the Senate removal process, every Democratic senator will have to vote in favor of the conviction and will have to get the support of 17 Republican senators. In a statement released shortly after the House adopted the indictment on Wednesday night, McConnell said it would be best for the country to wait until Biden takes the oath of office next week to hold a trial in the Senate.
In Comey’s book “Saving Justice: Truth, Transparency, and Trust,” which he said he completed in the fall of 2020, Comey wrote that if Trump faces federal charges after he leaves office, Biden should to consider Trump’s forgiveness. He explained why in “The View.”
“It was a very difficult and close question. Now it’s even harder and closer and I’m not sure I’m right,” Comey said. “But I’m worried about what will happen to our country if we give it its central location in Washington, DC.”
Comey presented a scenario in which “Trump moves through the courts of DC and is there constantly, while a new president tries to heal the nation, both spiritually and physically, while we are fighting this terrible pandemic. “
“In general, I would rather be convicted by the Senate, expelled from office and prosecuted by local New York prosecutors for the deception he was before he came [into] It would be better if we turned off the Klieg lights and watched him locally, rather than give him the center stage while Joe Biden tries to lead us.
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