In TV interview, James Comey says Donald Trump ‘morally unfit to be president’, possibly susceptible to Russian blackmail
‘I honestly never thought these words would come out of my mouth, but I don’t know whether the current president of the United States was with prostitutes peeing on each other in Moscow’
Former FBI Director James Comey said in his first televised interview since being fired that he believed Donald Trump was “morally unfit to be president,” and that it was “possible” that the Russians had material that could be used to blackmail him.
In a wide-ranging conversation with George Stephanopoulos broadcast on ABC late Sunday, Comey took aim at Trump in no uncertain terms, comparing his administration to a mafia family, likening his presidency to a forest fire and asserting there was evidence that he had committed a crime.
He said, curiously, that he would not favour impeaching Trump to remove him from office, because that “would let the American people off the hook and have something happen indirectly that I believe they’re duty-bound to do directly” – meaning through elections. But he made clear his view of whether Trump was fit to hold the position.
“This president does not reflect the values of this country,” Comey said.
The interview airs just days before Comey is set to release a new book and embark on a media tour to promote it. Much of what Comey said to Stephanopoulos mirrors what he wrote, although his televised, extemporaneous comments are sure to attract the attention of the president, who is an avid TV viewer.