White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has hit back at ex-FBI director James Comey's criticism of the president, calling him a "shameless fraud" in a tweet.
Sanders was responding to Comey's remark that Donald Trump was guilty of "lying" about the FBI's raid on his former attorney Michael Cohen.
Read more: James Comey blasts Trump for "lying" about Cohen raid
The war of words began when Trump accused Cohen of being a "rat," and the FBI of unlawfully breaking into his office. Comey responded to Trump's tweet with one of his own.
"This is from the President of our country, lying about the lawful execution of a search warrant issued by a federal judge. Shame on Republicans who don't speak up at this moment—for the FBI, the rule of law, and the truth," Comey said.
A day later, Sanders waded in, saying that the GOP "should stand up to Comey and his tremendous corruption," which in her view ranged from "the fake Hillary Clinton investigation, to lying and leaking, to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuse, and a list too long to name.
"The President did the country a service by firing him and exposing him for the shameless fraud he is," she added, without offering any evidence to back her claim.
Republicans should stand up to Comey and his tremendous corruption - from the fake Hillary Clinton investigation, to lying and leaking, to FISA abuse, and a list too long to name. The President did the country a service by firing him and exposing him for the shameless fraud he is
— Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) December 18, 2018
Many reacted to her tweet, such as Mollie Katzen, who wrote: "You're a press secretary, not a commentator. Sit down."
Lisa Marrufo tweeted: "So you have given up on that truthful legacy thing I see," referring to remarks Sanders made at Politico's Women Rule summit last week that she wanted to be remembered for being "transparent and honest."
On Monday, Comey appeared before the House Judiciary and House Oversight Committees, which are examining how the FBI and Justice Department handled the probe into Clinton's emails. It is also assessing special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and possible ties between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.
Comey told reporters after the six-hour session that Republicans were too cowardly to stand up for the FBI.
"Republicans used to understand that the actions of a president matter. The words of a president matter, the rule of law matters, and the truth matters. Where are those Republicans today?
"At some point, someone has to stand up and in the fear of Fox News and fear of their base, and fear of mean tweets, stand up for the values of this country and not slink away into retirement."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
