Obama-era officials Clapper and Brennan defend Comey in wake of IG report
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan defended onetime FBI Director James Comey following the release of a DOJ inspector general's report critical of his handling of memos detailing conversations with President Trump.
“I think he did what he thought was the right thing. I don’t take issue with what the Department of Justice inspector general said," Clapper told CNN's Brianna Keilar on Friday.
"Yeah, it violated the standard protocols and procedures of the FBI. I don’t think there’s a rulebook, though, for this extraordinary situation involving potential -- I emphasize potential -- criminality of a president.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Now, one man’s leaker is, you know, another man’s whistleblower... and in this case, I thought he was whistleblowing to the public."
MARK LEVIN: COMEY 'SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ANYWHERE CLOSE' TO A LAW ENFORCEMENT CAREER
Brennan, for his part, tweeted in solidary with Comey in reaction to an attack made by President Trump.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Jim Comey is far more decent, ethical, honest, competent, & patriotic than you could ever hope to be," Brennan tweeted at Trump on Thursday. "It is only because the AG & Republican Senators refuse to put country above party that you are not in a world of trouble & hurt. But their protective cocoon is only temporary..."
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Inspector General Michael Horowitz concluded that the memos Comey kept were, in fact, "official FBI records," and said Comey set a "dangerous example" with his actions involving their handling and dissemination.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The IG report outlined a series of violations by Comey, including that he broke FBI policies and the bureau's employment agreement "by providing one of the unclassified memos that contained official FBI information, including sensitive investigative information, to his friend with instructions for the friend to share the contents of the memo with a reporter."
Further, the IG determined that Comey kept copies of four memos (out of the total seven he drafted) in a personal safe at home after his removal as director -- and in doing so "violated FBI policies and his FBI Employment Agreement by failing to notify the FBI that he had retained them."
Fox News' Gregg Re and Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.