Comey is "not afraid to punch back" in a "Trumpian way" in new book, AP reporter says
Former FBI director James Comey is "not afraid to punch back in kind of a Trumpian way" in his new book, said Associated Press investigative reporter Chad Day on CBSN's "Red & Blue." Day saw an early copy of the tell-all book, "A Higher Loyalty," by Comey, who was fired by President Trump last year.
In addition to some of the bombshell claims that have been publicized about how Comey described Mr. Trump as "untethered to truth," Day said that Comey "seems to not be above needling the president a little bit when it comes to pointing out some things that will probably get his attention." In particular, Day said that Comey makes jabs about the size of Mr. Trump's hands and his hair.
Day said it a recurring theme throughout the book that Mr. Trump conducted himself in a manner that reminded Comey of what he saw in mafia bosses while Comey was a prosecutor in New York. Comey "felt like he was trying to be brought into the family," Day said.
"He sees the president as someone like a mafia boss – someone who is trying to demand loyatly from people and demand loyalty from him," Day said.
Day said that Mr. Trump was "fixated" on the so-called Steele dossier, the unsubstantiated report written by former British spy Christopher Steele that alleged Mr. Trump colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign. The Steele dossier was paid for by Fusion GPS, which received funding from the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. The dossier was published in full by BuzzFeed News, which included the "salacious" allegation that Mr. Trump had once paid Russian prostitutes to urinate on a bed, or what Comey reportedly calls the "golden showers thing."
Day said that Comey writes Mr. Trump is "fixated" on it. Comey writes that Mr. Trump thought it would be distressing for Melania Trump. "That's actually a really telling detail that comes out of this book," Day said.
As for Hillary Clinton, Day said "anybody who was waiting for Jim Comey to make an apology and I'm sorry for going out and making this public statement about Hillary Clinton, you're not going to find that in this book." Day said Comey expresses some regret for the way he framed some things in July 2016, but he stands by that and the explosive comments two weeks before Election Day about finding new emails.
Zeke Miller, Associated Press reporter and CBSN contributor, noted that Comey's book is coming out during a time of "unprecedented turmoil within the Trump administration." He said Comey's book is one of the most highly anticipated in Washington, D.C. -- even more so than Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury." Additionally, Wolff's book had a number of factual inaccuracies and could be discredited that way, but Comey's book will likely be "bullet-proof."
Miller said "the president feels under siege" this week, especially as Mr. Trump weighs important policy decisions in Syria and federal authorities raiding the home and offices of Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump's longtime personal attorney. Miller said Mr. Trump is more unpredictable now than he was three months ago, when Wolff's book was released.
"If past is prologue is here, in the case of the Wolff book, the president certainly did react vehemently from his orbit," Miller said.