James Comey is asking for an apology from all who have “defamed” him over the last several months — but not everyone is jumping to say “sorry” to the former FBI director.
Former South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy (R), who has long been one of Comey’s harshest critics, has asserted that he will apologize to the ex-FBI chief “when it snows in hell.”
No chance
Gowdy, a frequent television guest, made the remarks on Fox News on Friday during a conversation with Jason Chaffetz, a former Utah representative who was filling in for Sean Hannity.
“I’m certainly not going to apologize to anyone who violated FBI and Department of Justice [DOJ] policy, who violated an employment agreement, who shared sensitive information about an ongoing investigation, who sent classified information to an unauthorized person, and then had amnesia when the FBI came to his home to try to retrieve government property,” Gowdy said of Comey, who was the subject of a scathing Inspector General (IG) report released last week.
The report asserted that “Comey set a dangerous example for the over 35,000 current FBI employees” when he failed to safeguard “sensitive information obtained during the course of his FBI employment” and used that information “to create public pressure for official action.” Still, the Justice Department announced Thursday that it had declined to prosecute Comey, according to NBC News.
“I will give him a piece of unsolicited advice,” Gowdy said. “You should aspire to more in life than simply skating by without having been indicted. If that is your goal in life, to just not meet every essential element of a criminal offense, and you think you should be congratulated and apologized to for simply because you were not indicted, you better give back some of those Higher Loyalty speaking fees,” the former congressman added, referencing Comey’s 2018 memoir.
Chaffetz then pressed Gowdy further: Would he ever apologize to the former FBI director for being so critical of him?
“What temperature is it in hell right now? Is it snowing? When it snows in hell, you let me know,” Gowdy responded. “Why would I apologize to somebody who has been dinged on both of the major investigations by a guy like [DOJ Inspector General] Michael Horowitz, who is hardly a Republican?”
High horse
For his part, Comey has treated the IG’s report — along with Attorney General William Barr’s decision not to prosecute him — as a full exoneration. Accordingly, he is now asking for apologies “from those who defamed” him. He tweeted Thursday:
DOJ IG “found no evidence that Comey or his attorneys released any of the classified information contained in any of the memos to members of the media.” I don’t need a public apology from those who defamed me, but a quick message with a “sorry we lied about you” would be nice.
— James Comey (@Comey) August 29, 2019
And to all those who’ve spent two years talking about me “going to jail” or being a “liar and a leaker”—ask yourselves why you still trust people who gave you bad info for so long, including the president.
— James Comey (@Comey) August 29, 2019
But Comey shouldn’t hold his breath waiting for Gowdy’s apology — and it doesn’t look like many other officials are chomping at the bit to ask his forgiveness, either.
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