WASHINGTON — Former FBI director James Comey on Monday accused President Trump of trying ‘‘to burn down the entire FBI’’ and charged that congressional Republicans were willing accomplices for failing to challenge him.
‘‘The FBI’s reputation has taken a big hit because the president with his acolytes has lied about it constantly,’’ Comey told reporters, following his second closed-door interview this month with House lawmakers running an investigation into how federal law enforcement officials handled probes of the Trump campaign’s alleged Russia ties and Hillary Clinton’s e-mails.
Comey directed his vitriol nat all Republicans — including retiring GOP lawmakers, such as Senators Bob Corker and Jeff Flake, who have openly criticized Trump but aren’t seeking reelection.
‘‘At some point someone has to stand up and face the fear of Fox News, fear of their base, fear of mean tweets, stand up for the values of this country and not slink away into retirement but stand up and speak the truth,’’ Comey said, without naming names.
Comey testified for nearly six hours Monday, in addition to the six-hour closed-door discussion he had with panel members earlier this month.
During that session, he defended his decisions as FBI director — such as superseding then-Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch to declare the Clinton probe closed and then informing congressional leaders days before the 2016 election that it had been reopened.
