Former FBI Director James Comey told an audience in Charlotte that he is confused by special counsel Robert Mueller's decision to neither charge nor exonerate President Donald Trump on obstruction of justice, NBC News has reported.
“I have great faith in Bob Mueller, but I just can't tell from the letter [summarizing the Mueller report sent by Attorney General William Barr] why didn't he decide these questions [on obstruction of justice] when the entire rationale for a special counsel is to make sure the politicals aren't making the key charging decisions," Comey told an audience of roughly 2,000 people in Charlotte on Tuesday.
Comey, who supervised the start of the Russia probe before he was fired by Trump in May 2017, said he has not seen the report.
He also criticized Barr's logic in deciding not to pursue obstruction charges against Trump, saying that part of Barr's letter summarizing Mueller's findings was "really confusing."
"The notion that obstruction cases are somehow undermined by the absence of proof of an underlying crime, that is not my experience in 40 years of doing this nor is it the Department of Justice's tradition, Comey said. “Obstruction crimes matter without regard to what you prove about the underlying crime."
In the speech, according to The Charlotte Observer, Comey also emphasized that the report did find that the Russians interfered in the election, “with the goal of helping one candidate and damaging another. That was not a hoax.”
Comey also lashed out at Trump, saying he "doesn’t know anything about leadership,” something he said he concluded aduring their first private dinner, when he said Trump asked for his loyalty.
“A good leader doesn’t ask for loyalty,” Comey said.
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