Sarah Sanders hasn’t ruled out the possibility that James Comey will face prosecution from Attorney General William Barr.
NBC’s Chuck Todd asked Sanders on Sunday if Comey, who President Donald Trump has accused of “treason,” could expect to face charges or even be arrested as Barr intensifies his investigation of the FBI’s probe of the Trump campaign. Sanders said that it would be left up to Barr, but that Trump is expecting accountability.
“We’re going to let the attorney general make that determination as he gets to the conclusion of this investigation,” Sanders said.
Corruption at the FBI
Barr’s probe of the origins of the Russia investigation got a boost Thursday when President Trump granted Barr sweeping authority to declassify documents dealing with the FBI’s spying on the Trump campaign in 2016. Trump also ordered the intelligence community to fully cooperate with the attorney general’s investigation.
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In a discussion about the declassification order — which was blasted by Democrats like Rep. Adam Schiff (CA) as an attempt by Trump to weaponize the Justice Department to pursue his enemies — Todd asked Sanders whether the president is anticipating Comey’s arrest. Sanders said that it would be left up to Barr to decide, but Trump is expecting accountability for those responsible for “corruption at the FBI.”
“We certainly expect the people that were responsible and that were part of this unprecedented obstruction and corruption at the FBI, those people should certainly be held responsible and be held accountable, and the president expects that to take place,” she said.
Barr appointed a U.S. attorney to review alleged impropriety in the origins of the Russia investigation, and a separate investigation by the DOJ’s Inspector General Michael Horowitz is expected to finish in May or June. The attorney general has indicated that he is troubled by the appearances of impropriety in the FBI’s counter-intelligence investigation into the Trump campaign, telling Fox in May that he wants to figure out
whether government officials “put their thumb on the scale.”
The investigation has heightened speculation that top officials including Comey and former CIA chief John Brennan could face prosecution for alleged surveillance abuses. As Barr’s review has intensified, a dispute has opened up between the FBI and CIA over whether Comey or Brennan pushed the infamous Christopher Steele dossier, the unverified, political oppositions research document that the FBI used as evidence to spy on the Trump campaign.
The conclusion of Robert Mueller’s investigation with no finding of collusion brought immediate calls for accountability among the Justice Department from conservatives, as President Trump declared that the FBI committed a “treasonous” but failed election coup. Trump again
accusedComey of treason last week at a White House press conference.
“They’re trying to take down the wrong person,” Trump said, rattling off a list of enemies including Comey and others. “That’s treason. That’s treason. They couldn’t win the election, and that’s what happened,” he continued, referring to talk of an alleged “insurance policy” to deny Trump the presidency.
With Mueller’s probe over, Barr and Trump have doubled down on efforts to “investigate the investigators.” Barr’s review has faced panicked pushback from the same Democrats, mainstream media outlets, and senior intelligence officials who pushed the Russia hoax, including Comey, who published a
Washington Post op-ed Tuesday
blasting Trump’s “dumb lies” and defending the bureau’s conduct.
“There was no corruption. There was no treason. There was no attempted coup. Those are lies, and dumb lies at that. There were just good people trying to figure out what was true, under unprecedented circumstances,” Comey wrote. “But go ahead, investigate the investigators, if you must. When those investigations are over, they will find the work was done appropriately and focused only on discerning the truth of very serious allegations.”
Clinging to Mueller
With Barr’s probe heating up, Democrats are desperate to distract from any appearance of impropriety in the Russia probe and keep public attention focused on Robert Mueller’s investigation. Democrats received a boon to their continued Russia obsession Wednesday as Mueller threw a bone to the impeachment mob.
In his first and only public comments on the investigation on Wednesday, the special counsel defended Barr’s handling of his report, which Democrats have said was misleading and part of a “cover-up,” and emphasized that there was not enough evidence to charge Trump with a conspiracy. However, Mueller
maintained that charging Trump with obstruction of justice was “not an option,” citing longstanding DOJ policy about indicting sitting presidents.
“I am speaking out today because our investigation is complete,” Mueller said. “The attorney general has made the report on our investigation largely public. We are formally closing the special counsel’s office. And as well, I’m resigning from the Department of Justice to return to private life.”
Although Mueller did not find collusion, Democrats have argued for weeks that his report lays out impeachable evidence of obstruction of justice. Democrats began calling Mueller’s report an “impeachment referral” last month as speculation built over whether Mueller intended Congress to render its own judgment on whether Trump obstructed justice.
Mueller’s public comments on obstruction
emboldened Democrats who are calling for Trump’s impeachment; Dems took Mueller’s comments as an indication that he did, in fact, intend his report to be an “impeachment referral.”
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