Former CIA Director John Brennan said Saturday he would not be intimidated by prosecution threats after the Justice Department indicted former FBI Director James Comey earlier this week.
“I’m not going to be intimidated by the likes of Donald Trump. I have always tried to speak my mind and do what I thought was right,” Brennan said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Weekend.”
“And clearly there is a corruption and a perversion of the justice system right now within the executive branch,” he added.
On Thursday, Attorney General Pam Bondi brought charges against Comey for obstructing a congressional investigation and for making false statements to lawmakers.
Officials allege that Comey gave former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe permission to leak information pertaining to a probe into the 2016 Russia election interference investigation.
Comey has denied wrongdoing, while Democrats have argued criminal charges against him were politically motivated and Brennan said he’s “never doubted” the ex-FBI director’s integrity.
“The malicious prosecution against James Comey has no apparent basis in law or fact, and lawyers of good conscience in the department know it," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said following the indictment.
After the charges against Comey were announced, President Trump said he hopes for more indictments of “corrupt, radical-left Democrats.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), former Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper and Brennan are among the few who could be targeted with charges next.
“I don’t know what may be coming my way, but I’m not going to do things that are inconsistent with my ethics and my values and what it is that I believe is important,” Brennan said on Saturday. “And I think more people have to speak out when they see injustice, when they see a government that is abusing its authority and its power."
Brennan added that there was no evidence for a case against him.
“You know, there’s I don’t see any case against me. I have looked back on all of my actions and decisions,” he told host Eugene Daniels.
“And with John Durham, the special counsel and others that have looked at what we did there was certainly consistent with our legal authorities and with the law,” he continued, referring to the former special counsel for the Justice Department.
The ex-CIA director urged Republicans in Congress to speak out against the unlawful prosecution of former officials.
“I think more and more people have to speak out, and I’m waiting for those Republicans in Congress to come to their senses, because the damage that’s being done to this country and the dangerous times that we’re in, I think too many Americans do not appreciate the extent of that,” Brennan said.
Source: The Hill - News
