President Donald Trump raged against former FBI Director James Comey on social media again Friday after Comey was federally indicted over comments made during a 2020 congressional hearing.
Trump had demanded Attorney General Pam Bondi take action against Comey, along with other political enemies, days earlier. The president leapt to celebrate the indictment in the hours after it was filed Thursday, calling Comey “[o]ne of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to.”
The following morning, he debuted a new nickname for his opponent: “Dirty Cop.”
Trump has attacked the ex-FBI chief for years over his investigation of Russian interference into the 2016 presidential election, including potential contacts between Trump’s campaign and Russian government operatives.
“James ‘Dirty Cop’ Comey was a destroyer of lives. He knew exactly what he was saying, and that it was a very serious and far reaching lie for which a very big price must be paid!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Previous nicknames have included “Lyin’ Comey” and “Leakin’ Comey.”
“Whether you like Corrupt James Comey or not, and I can’t imagine too many people liking him, HE LIED!” Trump wrote. “It is not a complex lie, it’s a very simple, but IMPORTANT one. There is no way he can explain his way out of it.”
Trump noted Friday that Comey had been appointed a judge nominated by former President Joe Biden, so he was “off to a very good start.” Trump frequently complains about judges that he did not personally appoint.
“JAMES COMEY IS A DIRTY COP. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote in a subsequent Truth Social post.
The precise quote cited in the indictment came during a discussion of an FBI investigation — which was not named but believed to be related to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s charitable foundation — that had been leaked to a news outlet.
The indictment says that Comey told Congress he had not “authorized
someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports,” alleging that he actually had done so.
The quote came from a 2017 hearing; it was repeated back to Comey by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in 2020, at which point Comey said that he stood by his earlier testimony. The statute of limitations for what Comey said in 2020 is set to run out in just a few days.
On Thursday, Comey said he had done nothing wrong.
“My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system, and I’m innocent, so let’s have a trial,” he said in a video, adding, “And keep the faith.”