BURN

James Comey: Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker ‘May Not Be the Sharpest Knife in Our Drawer’

Not concerned because “The institution is too strong and [Whitaker], frankly, is not strong enough.”

Former FBI Director and vocal Trump critic James Comey slammed Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker in an interview with WGBH News, claiming that Sessions’ temporary successor “may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer.” The Boston Globe reports that when he was asked if Whitaker—a Donald Trump supporter and Robert Mueller critic—could threaten special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian collusion, Comey said “I think it’s a worry, but to my mind not a serious worry. The institution is too strong and he, frankly, is not strong enough to have that kind of impact.” He added that “He may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer, but he can see his future and knows that if he acted in an extralegal way, he would go down in history for the wrong reasons and I’m sure he doesn’t want that.” When a reporter asked Comey to clarify what “not strong enough” meant, Comey responded “I don’t think he has the throw-weight both by virtue of his experience, his intellect, and his time in seat to be able to shape the institution in that way.”