President
Donald Trump on Sunday morning attacked former
FBI Director
James Comey for saying his belief that
Hillary Clinton would win the 2016 presidential election played a role in the way he handled the investigation into her use of a private email server as secretary of state.
"Unbelievably, James Comey states that Polls, where Crooked Hillary was leading, were a factor in the handling (stupidly) of the Clinton Email probe," Trump wrote. "In other words, he was making decisions based on the fact that he thought she was going to win, and he wanted a job. Slimeball!"
Trump's rebuke comes in advance of Comey's highly anticipated ABC News interview airing Sunday night to kick of a publicity tour for his new book, "A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership" -- his first televised sit-down interview since he was fired by the President last year. CNN's Jake Tapper is set to interview Comey on April 19. CNN's Anderson Cooper will host a town hall with Comey on April 25.
Comey offers a scathing and unsparingly critical depiction of the President in the book, writing that Trump is "unethical and untethered to the truth" and comparing his presidency to a "forest fire."
Comey announced in July 2016 that he would not recommend charges in the investigation of Clinton's email practices. But in a controversial move, Comey told Congress just days before the election that the FBI was reviewing additional emails in relation to the investigation. In early November, Comey then informed lawmakers that those emails did not warrant any further action.
In a clip released Saturday by ABC News, George Stephanopoulos asks Comey about his motivations in revealing that information to Congress.
"Wasn't the decision to reveal influenced by your assumption that Hillary Clinton was going to win, and your concern that, she wins, this comes out several weeks later and then that's taken by her opponents as a sign that she's an illegitimate president?" Stephanopoulos asks.
"It must have been," Comey responds, adding, "I don't remember consciously thinking about that, but it must have been. I was operating in a world where Hillary Clinton was going to beat Donald Trump. I'm sure that it was a factor. I don't remember spelling it out, but it had to have been. That she's going to be elected president, and if I hide this from the American people, she'll be illegitimate the moment she's elected, the moment this comes out."
In his book, "A Higher Loyalty," Comey expresses a similar sentiment, writing, "It is entirely possible that, because I was making decisions in an environment where Hillary Clinton was sure to be the next president, my concern about making her an illegitimate president by concealing the restarted investigation bore greater weight than it would have if the election appeared closer or if Donald Trump were ahead in all polls."
Clinton herself has cited Comey's handling of the email probe as a reason she lost the election.