WASHINGTON ― In justifying President Donald Trump’s firing of James Comey, the White House claimed that federal agents had lost faith in their former FBI director. But the current acting head of the bureau told members of Congress on Thursday that simply isn’t true.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the deputy White House press secretary, claimed at a press conference on Wednesday that “the rank and file of the FBI had lost confidence in their director.” She said the White House heard from “countless members” of the bureau who didn’t have confidence in Comey, and that Trump was very concerned about morale there.
But asked by Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) on Thursday whether FBI employees had in fact lost faith in Comey, acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe was frank.
“No sir, that is not accurate,” McCabe said. Comey “enjoyed broad support within the FBI, and still does to this day,” McCabe said.
“We are a large organization, we are 36,500 people across this country, across this globe. We have a diversity of opinions about many things. But I can confidently tell you that the majority, the vast majority, of FBI employees enjoyed a deep and positive connection to Director Comey,” McCabe said.
“I worked very, very closely with Director Comey from the moment he started at the FBI. I was his executive assistant director of national security at that time. I worked for him running the Washington Field Office, and of course, I served as his deputy for the last year,” McCabe continued.
“I can tell you that I hold Director Comey in the absolute highest regard, I have the highest respect for his considerable abilities and his integrity, and it has been the greatest privilege and honor of my professional life to work with him.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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