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.”
Fox News Poll: Cost of living concerns weigh on GOP in midterms
Expert calls California ‘Wild West’ for surrogacy after couple charged with abusing surrogate-born children
DOJ unveils nationwide tax fraud crackdown involving 76 defendants, nearly $500M in alleged losses
Breaking: The DOJ Has Seized Ilhan Omar’s Phone
Dem AG targets Trump on voting while his state sends rights letters to dead people
Metallica Frontman Triggers Leftists with Subtle Shot at Zach Bryan, Macklemore, and Jelly Roll
Mamdani accuses Blakeman of ‘bigotry and racism’ in breakout debate that mayor didn’t watch
Lindsay Clancy mistrial holdout says he thought she was ‘methodical’ in the ‘execution’ of her children
Ken Paxton sues major baby food companies, alleging dangerous levels of heavy metals
AOC puts her standing as progressive leader on the line by hitching wagon to el Sayed
Federal Judge Sides with CNN, Politico, MS NOW in Battle Against White House
Massive trove of Republican voter and donor info breached in Biden DOJ probe: Senate chairman
Some pollsters think their results are exaggerating Democrats’ support, and angry ex-Trumpers are the cause
Apple Launches New Gadget with ‘Painfully Bad’ Ad That’s Making People ‘Actively Not Want to Buy the Product’
Iowa Dem Senate candidate says he’s too busy campaigning to attend all state House votes
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.
