On July 9th, during a discussion about the former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), John Brennan, and the former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), James Comey, President Donald Trump stated that they were extremely dishonest and might have to “pay the price” for it.
During a White House press briefing, Trump mentioned he was unaware of reports on the investigations into Brennan and Comey but assured the audience, “I think they are very dishonest people,” adding, “They are very bad, maybe they have to pay the price.”
On July 1st, in Washington D.C., U.S. President Donald Trump addressed questions. Photo by Hu Yousong, Xinhua News Agency.
U.S. media reported on August 8th that the FBI is currently conducting a criminal investigation into Brennan and Comey, both accused of making improper statements during an investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, including allegedly making false statements to Congress.
Fox News Channel quoted sources from the Department of Justice saying that John Ratcliffe, the current Director of the Central Intelligence Agency appointed by Trump, has submitted evidence of Brennan’s misconduct to the current Director of the FBI, Kathy Porter, in order to potentially initiate a lawsuit.
The CIA and FBI did not comment on this matter.
Brennan and Comey were appointed during the presidency of Democratic President Barack Obama, with their conflict with Trump dating back to Trump’s first term in office.
On June 8th, 2017, in Washington D.C., former FBI Director James Comey (left) attended a Senate hearing. Photo by Yin Bogu, Xinhua News Agency.
In 2016, then-Democratic Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lost the presidential election to Republican candidate Donald Trump. Democrats subsequently accused Russia of interfering in the election and colluding with Trump’s campaign team, leading to her defeat. Trump firmly denied these accusations. John Brennan, then-Director of the CIA, and James Comey, then-Director of the FBI, had pushed for an investigation into Trump’s alleged ties to Russia.
After taking office as president, Trump dismissed Comey in 2017. The subsequent investigation was taken over by Special Counsel Robert Mueller appointed by the Department of Justice. After nearly two years of investigation, Mueller concluded there was no evidence to suggest Trump’s team conspired with Russia. Trump and his supporters have been dissatisfied with Brennan and Comey’s roles in the aforementioned investigations.
In 2018, Trump revoked Brennan’s security clearance, accusing the former CIA Director of making “baseless and outrageous allegations” against his government.
John Brennan’s photo. Photo by Xinhua News Agency/United States Television Networks.
According to CNN, Comey was questioned by the Secret Service in May this year after posting a controversial photo on social media.
The photo showed a row of shells forming the number “86 47”. The photo was later deleted. The report said that the number “86” usually refers to discarding or processing something, and Trump is currently serving as the 47th President of the United States. This has become a popular code on social media demanding Trump’s removal from office. (: Cheng Dayu; Video: Li Jiaxu)