Former FBI Director James Comey said on Sunday that he wouldn’t resign over the findings in the Department of Justice Inspector General report on the origins of the Russia probe if he was still in charge of the FBI.
“As director you are responsible from this. I was responsible for this and if I were still there I would be doing what Chris Wray is doing, finding out how did this happen and is it systemic because that’s the scariest part,” Comey said on Fox News.
In December of 2018, after he was fired from his position, Comey told reporters that the FBI had handled the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) process appropriately.
“I have total confidence that the FISA process was followed and that the entire case was handled in a thoughtful and responsible way by DOJ and the FBI,” he said last year. “I think the notion that FISA was abused here is nonsense.”
Michael Horowitz, the DOJ IG, found that mistakes were made with respect to FISA warrants and Comey admitted on Sunday that he was wrong.
“I was overconfident as director in our procedures,” said Comey, who signed the FISA application for Carter Page, former Trump campaign foreign policy advisor.
Since the FISA errors were made on his watch, Comey was asked if he would have resigned as director if he was still in that position at this time.
“No I don’t think so. Mistakes I consider more consequential than this during my tenure and the important thing is to be transparent about it and look to fix it and explain to the American people how you fix it,” he said.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member