Former FBI Director James Comey on Monday called the recent backlash to his \u201c8647\u201d seashell photo a \u201cdistraction\u201d and maintained that his intentions were \u201ctotally innocent\u201d behind the now-deleted post.<\/p>\n
In an interview on MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House,” host Nicole Wallace asked whether he regrets posting the photo, which caused an onslaught of criticism from much of President Trump’s base, accusing Comey of calling for the president’s assassination. Secret Service officials also questioned Comey after the post.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I regret the distraction and the controversy around it, but again, it’s hard to have regret about something that, even in hindsight, looks to me to be totally innocent,\u201d Comey said.<\/p>\n
Comey, who was famously fired by Trump in his first administration, noted this is not the first time the president and his allies have targeted him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the Trump era, I’ve been investigated a lot, audited a lot, and so it’s not my first rodeo,\u201d Comey said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn some strange way, the relationship he can’t get over,\u201d he continued, \u201cmaybe because I’ve lived a happy, productive life since leaving, but this has just been a distraction in that life.\u201d<\/p>\n