Trump said he had ‘confidence’ in Comey last month. Now he accuses Democrats of hypocrisy.

Colin Campbell
·Editorial Director

President Trump lashed out on Twitter Tuesday, hours after his firing of FBI Director James Comey, and accused Democrats of hypocritical criticism of the abrupt ouster.

The stunning dismissal led to Democrats and even some Republicans to boost the case for an independent prosecutor to oversee the FBI’s investigation into whether any Trump associates colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election. Many critics connected the unprecedented firing to Richard Nixon’s administration.

In particular, Trump attacked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who said last November of Comey: “I do not have confidence in him any longer.” Schumer is among the Democrats calling for a new independent prosecutor.

Trump continued to criticize the Democrats’ reaction early Wednesday.

But Trump himself declared as recently as last month that he believed Comey was the right person for the job.

“I have confidence in him. We’ll see what happens. It’s going to be interesting,” he said during an April 12 Fox Business interview.

And on Wednesday of last week, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump “has confidence in the director.”

But Trump is just one of many political figures who have had a roller-coaster relationship with Comey.

Comey pleased, but also outraged, Republicans during the campaign when he attacked Clinton’s judgment in her use of a private email server for State Department business but declined to press charges.

The FBI director later boosted Republican spirits — including Trump’s — when he released an October letter saying his department’s probe was looking into additional emails connected to Anthony Weiner and longtime Clinton aide Huma Abedin. Shortly before the election, Comey released another letter saying his probe’s conclusion remained unchanged: no charges for Clinton or her aides.

Former FBI Diretor James Comey, President Trump.
Former FBI Diretor James Comey; President Trump (Photos: Jonathan Ernst; Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Clinton herself blamed Comey in part for her loss, saying earlier this month that she would have won if not for his initial letter and Russia’s meddling in the election.

Despite this, Comey’s firing alarmed many Democrats because of his ongoing investigation into whether any Trump associates had ties to the Kremlin during the race. Clinton’s former running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., suggested in a Wednesday morning interview on CNN that Trump has a history of firing anyone who digs into the possible connection to Russia.

The U.S. intelligence community accused the Russian government of spearheading the hacking attacks that led to massive email leaks from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton’s campaign chair.

Trump responded to Clinton’s comments by accusing Comey of going easy on her.

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