Rudy Giuliani says former FBI Director James Comey was a “jackass” to take the Steele dossier seriously and base Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants on its merit.
Giuliani, a lawyer to President Donald Trump and former New York mayor, made the comment during an interview with the Howie Carr Show Tuesday. Comey continues to provide validation to the largely discredited dossier that purports to document Trump’s sexual peccadilloes on a trip to Russia.
Former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey arrives at the Rayburn House Office Building before testifying to the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees on Capitol Hill December 17, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Giuliani says Comey wasn’t looking for the facts and merely wanted the FISA authority to spy on the Trump campaign.
“How come it was unverified for five months when he was FBI director? Hey, jackass — you had five months,” Giuliani told Carr, adding, “I would love to cross-examine him.”
A report last week based on Department of State documents proves former MI6 agent Christopher Steele only provided the dossier as fodder for the Hillary Clinton election campaign and that the FBI was aware of this confession.
Still, Comey persists in suggesting the dossier has merit, even telling CNN that there is an “oblique reference” to the veracity of the videos that supposedly show Trump in perverse sexual romps with prostitutes. (RELATED: James Comey Has ‘Never Thought’ Of Electronic Surveillance ‘As Spying’)
Former FBI Director James Comey defends the discredited Steele dossier at a CNN town hall segment, May 9, 2019. CNN screenshot via Twitter.
Giuliani also referenced the State Department memo from Oct. 11, 2016, that details a meeting between Steele and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kathleen Kavalec. Steele makes it quite clear that his investigation, being conducted for the Hillary Clinton campaign, must be concluded before the 2016 Election Day.
The FBI is believed to have seen the memo in mid-October. Steele also discussed a Russian spy cell working out of the “Russian consulate in Miami” when in fact there is no such facility.
“I guarantee you one of those [Kavalec] memos went to Jim Comey. The FBI was notified — she would not have notified the FBI that she found the Steele affidavit to be exceedingly questionable,” Giuliani said. (RELATED: Michael Cohen Puts Dagger In The Heart Of Steele Dossier During Congressional Testimony)
Giuliani wondered why Comey and the FBI fell for the dossier.
“I mean, an Assistant Secretary of State, who is not a law enforcement professional, read the Steele affidavit at the same time as the director of our FBI. And she came to the conclusion that it was an unverified piece of junk and put out a memo to that effect,” he said.