Former FBI Director James Comey blasted the bureau’s current leadership, taking aim at Deputy Director Dan Bongino for announcing the reopening of several “potential public corruption” cases via social media.
Comey, in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, questioned the professionalism of using a public platform for such disclosures and didn’t miss the opportunity to swipe at Bongino’s background, mocking his transition from conservative commentator to top FBI official.
“It’s a little confusing to me, honestly. I’m sure it’s a huge adjustment to go from being a podcaster to being the deputy director of the FBI, but I don’t understand this tweet,” said Comey, who’s been making the rounds on TV cable news since he was questioned by the Secret Service for posted what was taken as a violent threat against President Donald Trump on Instagram.
Bongino stated on social media that the FBI is either reopening or allocating additional resources to investigate several cases of potential public corruption.
“These cases are the DC pipe bombing investigation, the cocaine discovery at the prior administration’s White House, and the leak of the Supreme Court Dobbs case,” Bongino said.
The first case appears to involve the investigation into the pipe bombs that were planted outside the headquarters of the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee on January 5, 2021, just one day before the Capitol riot.
Comey told Blitzer he just assumed that the case “was never closed.”
“The FBI never closes such a thing, so I guess it means they’re going to focus on it more,” he said.
Regarding the leaked draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the case that ultimately overturned Roe v. Wade, Comey pointed out that the Supreme Court released a report on its investigation in 2023, which failed to identify the individual responsible for the leak.
“I don’t know what the FBI’s role is there,” Comey told Blitzer.
The third case involved the discovery of cocaine at the White House in 2023, which quickly became political fodder for Republicans as they entered the presidential election year.
“I thought the Secret Service investigated that,” Comey said. “So I don’t follow it and understand it.”
The former FBI director, who was fired by President Trump for malfeasance shortly after he took office during his first term, then said he found it odd that Bongino would announce the reopening of the cases via social media.
“The FBI often calls for public assistance or, in matters of great public concern, will announce an investigation to reassure the public,” he said.
“This seems much more narrowly targeted, maybe to a former podcast audience,” he added.
Comey then said, remarkably, that he did not have much confidence in the FBI’s current leadership, though his deputy director, Andrew McCabe, was also fired during Trump’s first term for lying about an unauthorized leak to the media.
“I hope the career people are able to support the director and the deputy director. There are lots of people in the FBI who know what they’re doing. I hope these two guys are letting them guide them,” Comey said, adding that he had no faith in Patel or Bongino.
“Nothing in their life or their career gives me confidence that they know anything about leading an organization like that. And so I would have serious doubts. I bet they do internally about whether they have doubts. Great. Let the people who know what they’re doing give you advice, and listen to them,” he told Blitzer.
Some see Comey as making the media rounds to do damage control for himself.
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