Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:47 pm
During a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday, FBI Director James Comey refused to comment on whether his agency is investigating any connection between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia.
“I would never comment on investigations  …  in an open forum,” Comey responded, straight face intact.
The remark comes amid reports that Russia has damaging financial and personal information on Trump.
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The irony of the FBI director’s refusal to answer the question posed by Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden did not go unnoticed by Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine.
Video:
FBI director: “We never confirm or deny a pending investigation.â€
Senator: “The irony of your making that statement here, I cannot avoid.†pic.twitter.com/rjCkm0eOmQ
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) January 10, 2017
When King pressed Comey on why he wouldn’t answer Wyden’s initial question on whether the FBI was investigation a possible Trump campaign-Russia connection, Comey repeated himself.
“I don’t, especially in a public forum, we never confirm or deny a pending investigation,” Comey said.
King shot back, with a chuckle: “The irony of your making that statement here, I cannot avoid, but I’ll move on.”
The irony, of course, is that Comey weighed in publicly about the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails twice in two weeks just before last year’s presidential election.
Luckily, Comey was called out for his clear change of heart when it comes to publicly discussing his agency’s investigations. But the American people still deserve to know whether Trump – who will formally become president in 10 days – was coordinating with a foreign state in order to win a presidential election.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
