James Comey, the former FBI director and 2016 election villain turned anti-Trump resistance hero, had some harsh words for Democrats distraught over the reported findings of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling.
"It's a very good thing that the special counsel appears to have concluded there isn't sufficient evidence to establish any Americans were part of this effort," Comey told CNN's Christiane Amanpour. "I don't care what party you're in, that should be good news to you as an American citizen."
James Comey: "Yes, it's a very good thing that the special counsel has appeared there isn't sufficient evidence to establish there were any Americans were part of this effort. I don't care what party you are in, that should be good news to you." https://t.co/NHkitYYHOr pic.twitter.com/he66cKAw6I
— The Hill (@thehill) April 4, 2019
The news has not been well received by members of the so-called anti-Trump "resistance," many of whom were expecting Mueller report to yield further indictments and uncover evidence of President Donald Trump's direct involvement in a Russian conspiracy to steal the election.
In his summary of the Mueller report, Attorney General William Barr wrote that the Special Counsel's investigation "did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election."
Some members of Mueller's team, however, are reportedly displeased with Barr's framing of the report, and have begun leaking to national media outlets to complain. NBC's Ken Dilanian reports that some investigators believe they evidence they found "paint[s] a picture of a campaign whose members were was manipulated by a sophisticated Russian intelligence operation."
DEVELOPING: Some members of Special Counsel Mueller's team have expressed frustration that AG Barr cleared President Trump of obstruction of justice, a US official who has spoken with them tells @NBCNews. https://t.co/eSVESCfS8T
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 4, 2019
Comey, who was initially derided for his role in the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server, was embraced by the #Resistance after Trump fired him as FBI director in May 2017. Comey eventually parlayed his status as a #Resistance icon into a multimillion-dollar book deal.