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.”
‘Illicit’ version of fentanyl linked to deadly New Mexico incident that sickened first responders
High school teacher who allegedly had sex with student in closet now faces charges involving more teens
Military families demand DOJ distribute nearly $800M from French cement company found guilty of bribing ISIS
Children’s YouTube Superstar Announces the Death of His 14-Year-Old Son
Kyle Busch 911 Call Released, Shedding New Light on His Shocking Death
Way harder than it should be: Why Congress may balk on $1.7B compensation fund
Trump announces highest civilian honor for 9/11 hero remembered as the ‘Man in the Red Bandana’
New Jersey Officials Say the Mafia Is Thriving Again as Tech-Savvy Mobsters Take Crime Online
Sheridan Gorman’s parents say protecting children from failed immigration policies isn’t a one-party fight
DOJ vows to appeal after judge dismisses smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia as ‘vindictive’
Police: Men Executed Florida Firefighter for a Pair of Nikes and an iPhone, Gloated About It
Grady Judd puts parents on notice over TikTok teen takeovers: ‘We’re gonna come lock you up too’
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani releases audit accusing federal immigration agents of misleading tactics
Republicans get ‘aggressive’ in fight to win top cop spots in battleground states
Georgetown Cupcake keg-throwing suspect turned in by his own father after recognizing surveillance footage
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.
