WASHINGTON — President Trump expressed approval of new Justice Department investigations into James Comey and John Brennan — calling the men “crooked as hell.”
Trump was asked about the just-launched probes by Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy, who inquired whether the president wanted the pair “behind bars.”
“Well, I know nothing about it, other than what I read today, but I will tell you, I think they’re very dishonest people. I think they’re crooked as hell, and maybe they have to pay a price for that,” Trump said.
“I believe they are truly bad people and dishonest people. So whatever happens, happens.”
Brennan, CIA director under President Barack Obama, is believed to be under investigation for lying to Congress about the Steele dossier, which contained salacious allegations tying Trump to Russia.
Brennan, who was CIA director under President Barack Obama, is believed to be under investigation for allegedly lying to Congress in May 2023 about the Steele dossier, which contained salacious allegations tying Trump to Russia.
At the time, Brennan told Congress that “the CIA was very much opposed to having any reference or inclusion of the Steele dossier” in a major intelligence agency report — but recently released communications show that Brennan actually stated “I believe that the information warrants inclusion” in a December 2016 intelligence community assessment that found Moscow intervened in that year’s election to assist Trump.
A source told The Post that the Comey investigation also is tied to the Russia probe, which bogged down more than half of Trump’s first term before closing with the finding that were was no evidence that Trump conspired with Moscow to win the White House.
If the Comey probe involves him allegedly lying to Congress, there’s a possible statute of limitations issue because the crime must be charged within five years, barring an exotic legal theory that would stretch the timeframe.
Republicans accused Comey in 2017 of lying in sworn testimony to lawmakers, and he later appeared again before Congress in September 2020, though it’s unclear what fib he may have told on that occasion — rasing the possibility that conspiracy charges may be sought as a tactic to allow for an indictment on an older predicate offense.
In May, Comey was interviewed by the Secret Service after posting an image of seashells arranged to read “8647” — widely interpreted as a threat against Trump.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also cheered the investigations Tuesday night, calling the men “disgraceful individuals” who may have lied to Congress.
Trump, now 79, fired Comey, 64, as FBI director in May 2017, after his frustration with the investigation into claims his campaign colluded with the Kremlin — though the termination was ostensibly for airing derogatory information about Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton ahead of the election.
Both Comey and Brennan, 69, are frequent Trump critics.
Lying to Congress can land perpetrators in prison for up to five years, but the offense is rarely charged on its own.
Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, for example, was not prosecuted by the DOJ during Trump’s first term for wrongly testifying that US spy agencies were “not wittingly” operating dragnet domestic surveillance programs.
Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions allowed the deadline to file charges to lapse in March 2018, despite a bipartisan outcry over the deception.
Trump’s second administration has been willing to launch investigations into prominent political figures — after the president himself faced four criminal cases before reclaiming the White House.
The Justice Department also is investigating New York state Attorney General Tish James for alleged mortgage fraud and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for allegedly lying to Congress about the coverup of COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes that the Democrat forced to accept infected patients.