Former FBI assistant director says Comey is damaging the FBI

Former Assistant FBI Director Mark Morgan slammed former FBI Director James Comey for his criticisms of President Trump in a report published Thursday in USA Today.

Morgan, whom Trump recently tapped to become the new chief of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said that Comey’s criticisms of the president damage the FBI.

{mosads}“He is telling the world now that he thinks the president is amoral. That opinion just didn’t come out of thin air on the day he was fired,” Morgan, who served under Comey, said.

“As a former director of the FBI, when he speaks, he still brings the full force of credibility of that position, and so he’s not an average citizen when he speaks, and he knows that. … Every time he speaks, every time he does an op-ed, he continues to do damage to the FBI.” 

Comey has emerged as a frequent critic of Trump since his dismissal from the agency in 2017 and has become a conservative target over his comments and his handling of the FBI’s investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server in 2016.

The former director has drawn conservatives’ ire for comments that he was alarmed by his interactions with Trump while serving under him and the written memos of his meetings with the president, which were later shared with a friend and ultimately provided to reporters.

Morgan, who also served as Border Patrol chief under President Obama, told USA Today that Comey’s decision to share the memos was “when he absolutely lost me,” adding that his public criticism of Trump, including in a best-selling memoir, is a “self-serving” endeavor.

However, not all former FBI officials agree with Morgan’s criticism, saying they respect that Comey feels strongly that he needs to speak out.

“Clearly, he could stay out of the spotlight. He didn’t have to write a book, doesn’t have to write speeches, doesn’t have to speak out,” said Greg Brower, who was the FBI’s assistant director for the Office of Congressional Affairs. “He just feels strongly that people need to know what he knows and what he experienced.”

“I admire the fact that he’s not afraid to be public about this.” 

Comey declined to be interviewed for the USA Today piece.