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Donald Trump.
It's been 83 days since President Donald Trump took the oath of office, but his comments about FBI Director James Comey and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo in an interview that aired Wednesday showed the 2016 election is still far from the back of the president's mind.Speaking to Bartiromo, Trump said Comey "was very, very good" to Clinton, who would be "going to trial" if he was not.
It was a part of a lengthy exchange that began when Bartiromo asked Trump whether it was a mistake to not ask Comey to step down as director of the FBI.
Comey said last month that the FBI was looking into potential collusion between Trump associates and Russian government officials aimed at influencing last year's presidential election, adding that the FBI investigation began in late July.
"Is it too late now to ask him to step down?" Bartiromo asked.
"No, it's not too late, but, you know, I have confidence in him," Trump responded. "We'll see what happens. You know, it's going to be interesting. But, you know, we have to just - look, I have so many people that want to come into this administration. They're so excited about this administration and what's happening - bankers, law enforcement - everybody wants to come into this administration."
"Don't forget, when Jim Comey came out, he saved Hillary Clinton," Trump added, referencing the July statement Comey made to the press that the FBI did not believe it was appropriate to file charges for Clinton's use of a private email server. "People don't realize that. He saved her life, because - I call it Comey won. And I joke about it a little bit."
In describing Comey's reading of what the FBI was looking into regarding Clinton's use of the server, Trump claimed it was clear Clinton "was guilty on every charge."
"And then he said, she was essentially OK," he said. "But he - she wasn't OK, because she was guilty on every charge. And then you had two and then you had three. But Hillary Clinton won - or Comey won. She was guilty on every charge."
"Director Comey was very, very good to Hillary Clinton, that I can tell you," the president later added. "If he weren't, she would be, right now, going to trial."
Asked by Bartiromo if he will "push that," Trump said he didn't "want to talk about that."
Democrats certainly don't view Comey as being "very, very good" to Clinton, pointing to a late October letter he sent to Congressional leaders that said the FBI was looking into additional information regarding Clinton's use of an email server, sparking a firestorm just days before the November election. Some Clinton allies believe the letter was instrumental in pushing Trump over the top in what was a narrow electoral victory.
Comey revealed days after the letter was released that the FBI was not able to find anything from the newly found information that warranted any additional action against Clinton, but for Democrats, the damage was already done.
"Most maddening line to D's this am?" tweeted Matt Mittenthal, a former Clinton campaign spokesman. "'Director Comey was very, very good to Hillary Clinton, that I can tell you.'"