ABC’s The View took an unexpected turn Thursday when co-host Joy Behar said she agreed with President Donald Trump’s view that former FBI Director James Comey may have broken the law.
Her comments came just hours before the Justice Department announced that a grand jury had returned an indictment of Comey.
Trump has repeatedly called in recent days for the Justice Department to prosecute Comey over his role in the origins of the Russia investigation. On Wednesday, officials close to the administration said authorities were preparing charges.
Behar said she believed Trump “has a point” but tempered her remarks with caution, noting that she also distrusted Comey for reopening the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails just 11 days before the 2016 election.
“You know what, I don’t like Comey. I agree with Trump on this one. I don’t like what he did to Hillary,” Behar said. “I’m just saying. But I rarely have something that I agree with Trump on, so this is one thing.”
Comey’s conduct came under renewed scrutiny during a 2020 congressional hearing, where he was accused of perjuring himself while testifying about the FBI’s investigation of Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide and former personal attorney to Trump.
Comey’s disputed testimony came during a 2020 hearing when Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) asked whether he had leaked information about the Trump or Clinton campaigns. Comey answered, “No.”
Cruz later pointed to statements from former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who acknowledged that he had received authorization from Comey to share sensitive information with the Wall Street Journal regarding the Bureau’s investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard referred Comey to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution this summer, citing documents uncovered during a review of U.S. intelligence activities following the 2020 election.
Comey was one of several former Obama administration officials recommended for investigation, a list that also included former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
A federal grand jury indicted Comey following an investigation into whether he lied to Congress during his Sept. 30, 2020, testimony about the FBI’s handling of its Trump–Russia probe, known internally as “Crossfire Hurricane.”
The indictment also accuses Comey of making a false statement when he testified that he had not authorized anyone at the FBI to act as an anonymous source for media reports. Prosecutors allege that claim was untrue.
The disgraced former FBI director said Thursday that he is “not afraid” of President Donald Trump’s Justice Department following his indictment on charges of allegedly lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding.
“My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way,” Comey, who denies the allegations, said in an Instagram video. “We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either. Somebody that I love dearly recently said that fear is the tool of a tyrant, and she’s right.”
“But I’m not afraid,” Comey added.
“My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system,” Comey continued. “I’m innocent. So let’s have a trial and keep the faith.”
The indictment represents a dramatic development for James Comey, who previously led the FBI during the investigations into Hillary Clinton’s emails and Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Comey is expected to surrender on Friday, with his arraignment scheduled for 10 a.m. on Oct. 9 before U.S. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff, an appointee of former President Joe Biden.
FBI Director Kash Patel praised the bureau’s handling of the case, commending the career agents and analysts who carried out the investigation.
“They called the balls and strikes and will continue to do so,” Patel said in a statement, while denying the probe was political in nature.
