Comey: US not in a ‘constitutional crisis,’ but system is being tested

Former FBI Director James Comey said Thursday in a CNN town hall that he does not believe, as some top Democrats have said, that the U.S. is in a “constitutional crisis.”

“I actually don’t think so,” Comey said when asked by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper whether the U.S. was in a constitutional crisis.

{mosads}“We’re in a time where our constitutional design, the genius of our Founders, is going to be tested, and I think it’s up for it,” he added during the town hall on the 2-year anniversary of his firing.

He said the battle between the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government will be fought in the courts.

“A crisis would be if the United States courts say, ‘No, Mr. President, you must comply with this demand’ and he says, ‘No,’ then,” Comey said. “We’re not there.”

Comey said he did believe the U.S. political system was being “stress-tested.”

Both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) have said they believe the U.S. is in a “constitutional crisis.”

The Democrats made the remarks after the Judiciary panel voted Wednesday to hold Attorney General Barr in contempt of Congress for failing to produce an unredacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller‘s report and its underlying evidence. 

President Trump on Wednesday asserted executive privilege over the report, which was released in redacted form last month.