CNN host Jake Tapper called out former FBI director James Comey Thursday for repeatedly saying "it's possible" President Donald Trump was compromised by the Russians.
"You oversaw the Russia investigation for almost ten months. Do you have a general sense of how that investigation is going to end up?" Tapper asked.
Comey, appearing on CNN to promote his recently released book, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership, told Tapper he had an idea of how the investigation was going to go but that he was "not completely" sure.
Tapper pressed further, asking whether, based on his experience while FBI director, he thought people around Trump were going to be "found guilty of conspiring, aiding and abetting with Russians."
"I can't say. I've left it out of the book for reasons that should be obvious. I can't talk about classified information or sensitive investigative details," Comey said.
The CNN host asked about specific comments Comey had made about it being "possible" Trump was compromised by Russians.
"You have left the impression that there's something there. In your interviews, you have said when asked 'do the Russians have something on President Trump,' you have said, 'It's possible. It's possible,' which is not a very FBI director answer, don't you think?" said Tapper.
Comey noted he was no longer the FBI director but he hoped his answer was "honest," "calibrated," and he hoped it was a "FBI director type answer."
Later in the interview, Tapper questioned Comey on whether it was "unfair" to Trump for him to say that "it's possible" he had been compromised by the Russians.
"It's possible there's life on other planets. We don't know. For you, somebody like you with your reputation saying it's possible isn't -- I mean, it is also possible that it's not true. Isn't that another way you could look at the same question?" Tapper said.
Comey said there's a reason he says, "it's possible," saying it was different than looking up at the stars "saying there were green men out there."
"Two things struck me. One, the president's constantly bringing it up to me to deny it and in my experience as an investigator, it's not an ironclad rule, but it's a striking thing when someone constantly brings up something to deny that you didn't ask about," Comey said. "Second, I've always been struck with my encounters with him that he wouldn't criticize [Russian President] Vladimir Putin even in private, which struck me as odd."
"Now those aren't definitive, those aren't conclusive facts, but the reason I'm saying 'it's possible' is there are things that lead my common sense to believe it's possible," Comey added.