Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions appeared on the Fox News Channel’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Thursday evening and had sharp words when asked about former FBI Director James Comey.
Comey’s name has returned to headlines in relation to revelations this week about questionable behavior by the FBI in their investigation of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.
“Jim Comey did not believe he was bound by the rules,” Sessions began the interview.
Comey, as FBI director, was Sessions’ subordinate in the Department of Justice, but the FBI director position is appointed and removed directly by the president.
“I think people knew that I felt that he should not continue from virtually day one of the administration,” said Sessions later in the interview when asked about the early days of the Trump administration.
“When I was asked by the president about it, it didn’t take me 30 seconds to say [that] my recommendation is that he be removed,” Sessions continued.
The discussion of James Comey was brought about by new developments in the case of Michael Flynn.
Flynn, who served honorably in the military for decades where he became a three-star general, was President Trump’s first national security advisor after being inaugurated in 2017.
President Trump fired Flynn after just a few weeks, saying at the time it was because Flynn had lied to Vice President Mike Pence.
Flynn was later prosecuted because for lying to the FBI about conversations and relationships he had with representatives of foreign countries.
The incident bringing Comey back into the news cycle involved the revelation of notes by FBI agents that seem to indicate certain interviews with Flynn were possibly conducted with the intention of getting him to lie so he could then be prosecuted.
“This is evidence that it was a setup. A perjury trap, it’s really clear,” argued Sessions on Thursday.
“Jim Comey was the leader of it. These agents would not have done it if he hadn’t sent them in,” he added about the newly-unsealed documents.
Robert Mintz, a former federal prosecutor, told the Washington Post that the newly revealed documents “raise questions about the investigation” but cautioned that “entrapment is a high bar.”
Sessions was not confirmed as U.S. Attorney General until February 8, 2017, which he says is after the questionable interview with Flynn was conducted.
“That was not the way to treat somebody,” Sessions said.
Sessions went on to say that “Comey just laughed about how he got around” the normal practices for interviewing an individual of high importance.
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Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95
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