James Clapper said Friday that former FBI Director James Comey was “uneasy” about his dinner with President Trump and it would be “out of character” for him to plead for his job.
The former Director of National Intelligence told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell that Comey had expressed doubts about going to dinner with Trump but felt obligated to attend because, as a public servant, it would be “difficult” to refuse.
“I think anyone who is a serving officer in the government, and you’re asked by the president to dinner, as a professional courtesy you’re in a difficult position to refuse to go,” Clapper asserted.
When asked about Trump’s claims that Comey pleaded for his job and told Trump that he is not under investigation, Clapper said those remarks sounded “out of character” for Comey.
“I would find that very inconsistent with what I know of Jim Comey,” Clapper explained. “Moreover, anyone who’s in a position that’s subject to Senate confirmation … understands that you serve ‘at the pleasure of’ and it would really be, I think, inappropriate and, certainly in Jim’s case, out of character for him to ask to stay on.”
Clapper also said during the interview that he does not know if there was collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
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