Sen. Ted Cruz slammed former FBI Director James Comey over his handling of the investigation into ties between President Trump and Russia.
“Based upon what we know about how you and your agency ran the FBI’s anti-Trump investigation, you are either criminally corrupt or completely incompetent,” the Texas Republican said Wednesday during Comey’s testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“And I don’t believe you were incompetent … Nobody trusts the FBI anymore because of you, and that is your legacy,” he continued.
.@TedCruz: “This investigation of the president was corrupt, the FBI and the [DOJ] were politicized and weaponized.
And in my opinion, there are only two possibilities:
That you were deliberately corrupt or woefully incompetent.
And I don’t believe you were incompetent. ” pic.twitter.com/PzjEsDtpRa
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer)
September 30, 2020
“This has done severe damage to the professionals and the honorable men and women at the FBI because law enforcement should not be used as a political weapon,” Cruz added.
Comey, who testified multiple times that he didn’t remember certain information about the FISA process used during the Russia investigation, was also criticized by Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah.
“How can you now as a private citizen and former FBI director show up and then speculate freely regarding any alleged ties between President Putin and President Trump … when you don’t seem to know anything about this investigation that you ran?” Lee asked Comey.
Comey defended the Russia investigation during the hearing, but he admitted that there “were parts of it that were concerning.”
“In the main, it was done by the book, it was appropriate, and it was essential that it be done,” Comey said.