Trump told reporters at the White House that Justice Department officials, not him, would determine whether to indict former FBI Director James Comey, whom Trump fired in 2017.
At the same time, he said he believed he would be allowed to get involved in the case, without explaining what he meant.
“They’re going to make a determination. I’m not making that [determination],” Trump said of a Comey indictment. “I think I’d be allowed to get involved if I want, but I don’t really choose to do so. I can only say that Comey is a bad person. He’s a sick person.”
“I have no idea what’s going to happen,” Trump added.
Asked for clarification, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson referred NBC News back to the president’s remarks this morning. She did not provide further information.
Trump’s pressure on Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate those who have investigated him, including Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and others, has raised alarms about the independence of his Justice Department. Critics have charged that the president is trying to use the department to target his political opponents.
NBC News and other outlets have reported that the Justice Department is deciding whether to charge Comey with lying to Congress. The testimony at issue involved his affirmation to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in 2020 that he stood by a previous denial in 2017 that he was involved in authorizing an information leak.
Earlier this month, Trump publicly pushed Bondi to not “delay any longer” actions related to several political opponents.
“JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!” Trump wrote in the post.
