Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer ripped into MSNBC analyst Barb McQuade for suggesting that James Comey was a modern-day Paul Revere.
McQuade defended the former FBI director in several tweets following the release of the inspector general’s report indicating that he had violated FBI policy, suggesting at first that he was like a man who broke into a house to save someone from a storm.
She followed that with a tweet arguing instead that Comey was a modern-day version of Paul Revere, saying, “I’ve been struggling to find the right metaphor to explain @Comey’s conduct. Here’s another try: Criticizing Comey’s conduct is like reprimanding Paul Revere for breaking curfew to warn that the British were coming.”
I’ve been struggling to find the right metaphor to explain @Comey’s conduct. Here’s another try: Criticizing Comey’s conduct is like reprimanding Paul Revere for breaking curfew to warn that the British were coming. https://t.co/LbMBzEZiyi
— Barb McQuade (@BarbMcQuade) September 1, 2019
Flesicher fired right back, arguing that there was one major flaw in her analogy. “Except Paul Revere was right. The British were coming. James Comey was wrong. There was no collusion. Comey’s vain-glorious leaking put the nation through two years of terrible strife. Comey overreacted, showed poor judgement and broke FBI rules. Comey is no Revere,” Fleischer explained. (RELATED: Ari Fleischer: ‘Hillary Clinton And James Comey Deserve Each Other’)
Except Paul Revere was right. The British were coming. James Comey was wrong. There was no collusion. Comey’s vain-glorious leaking put the nation through two years of terrible strife. Comey overreacted, showed poor judgement and broke FBI rules. Comey is no Revere. https://t.co/8ujVxRPacI
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) September 2, 2019
Comey responded to the IG report by claiming that even though he had violated FBI policy, since he it had not been proven that he violated the law, his critics owed him an apology.