Former FBI general counsel James Baker said this week that he and other officials were “quite worried” that former FBI Director James Comey appeared to be blackmailing then President-elect Trump during a 2017 meeting regarding salacious allegations found in the Steele dossier.
On the latest episode of the Yahoo News podcast “Skullduggery” broadcast on Tuesday, Baker said he and others were so concerned about Comey briefing Trump on January 6, 2017 on Russia’s interference in the election as well as the controversial dossier that “analogies” were made to J. Edgar Hoover, the former FBI director who famously abused his power to blackmail individuals.
“We were quite worried about the Hoover analogies, and we were determined not to have such a disaster happen on our watch,” Baker said, hoping to convey to the incoming president that they did not want to continue the “legacy” of Hoover’s blackmailing.
Baker did not recall the moment he first heard about the Steele dossier but remembered the bureau taking it “seriously” and said that they were “obligated to deal with it” and determine whether or not anything about it was true, but insisted they didn’t accept it “as gospel.” He did, however, believe Trump had to be briefed on the dossier because it was “about to be disclosed to the press.”
Minneapolis police chief issues apology for linking Somali youth to local crime
Reporter’s Notebook : A ‘Letter’ To Zelesnkyy Re The Peace Plan
FBI Gives Its Final Verdict on Trump Shooter Thomas Crooks
Watch the Moment Steven Crowder Finally Gets Through to Liberal Student and She Realizes What She’s Been Taught Doesn’t Make Sense
Wave of car attacks on ICE agents follows incendiary rhetoric from target-city leaders
GOP Senate hopeful reveals how Dems are making America ‘weaker’ in viral video ahead of Thanksgiving
Bolsonaro arrested days ahead of imprisonment to ‘ensure public order’
The Truth Behind MTG’s Resignation Date Is Exactly the Reason Why Conservatives Don’t Trust Politicians
Deep Dive: ‘Record Breaking’ Tax Refunds Expected For Americans in 2026 Thanks to ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
Government contractors still feeling effects of shutdown despite it ending
New Orleans not taking crime ‘seriously enough,’ says carjacking victim’s daughter as federal operation looms
Crockett Cries Racism Over Criticism of Democrat Who Colluded with Epstein Against Trump
Leaked Public School Teacher Union Training Exposes Plans to Undermine Parents, Indoctrinate Students with Gender, Race Ideology
Anna Kepner dies mysteriously during family vacation on Carnival cruise ship: Timeline of events
Indictment of Newsom’s former chief of staff exposes abuse of power
The former top FBI lawyer explained why he clashed with Comey over whether to tell Trump that he wasn’t the subject of the Russia investigation. According to Baker, he argued that the then President-elect’s activities “fell into the category” of being a subject and he didn’t think it was “accurate” to say otherwise. By contrast, Comey repeatedly told Trump that the president was not under investigation before his dismissal in May 2017.
Nonetheless, Baker said he supported any investigation that is looking into the origins of the Russia probe.
“I welcome scrutiny,” Baker said. “I plan to fully cooperate with the department to help them figure out what happened. Because I believe what happened was lawful, at least based on every piece of information that I have.”
Story cited here.
