Fired FBI Director James Comey should not be prosecuted, but he should not be taking a "victory lap" either, because "he knew he was doing something wrong," according to civil liberties expert Alan Dershowitz on Newsmax TV.
"He shouldn't be taking a victory lap," Dershowitz told "Newsmax Now." "He's been much criticized and deservedly criticized, but he's not going to be prosecuted. I think that was the right answer on both respects. He should be condemned, but he should not be prosecuted."
Comey was celebrating his lack of prosecution, but his actions of "laundering" a memo to the media to force a special counsel "was a kind of conscience of guilt," Dershowitz told host John Bachman.
"He certainly acted guilty," he said. "The idea that he laundered these memos through a Columbia law professor instead of having the courage of having to stand up in front of the TV cameras and say, 'look, I'm putting these memos out because I think a special prosecutor ought to be appointed. I think we ought to try to go after President [Donald] Trump."
". . . For him to have then laundered the information through a professor was a kind of conscience of guilt. He knew he was doing something wrong."
Dershowitz added neither President Trump nor his backers should be celebrating either.
"I don't think this should be politicized," he said. "I don't think this should be seen as a victory for Republicans or the Democrats, or the vindication of a Democrat. This is the Justice Department trying to clean up its act and trying to make sure the FBI, which is one of the most powerful agencies in the United States, and has the potential to really violate civil liberties.
"This should be seen as a neutral, objective analysis by a civil servant of the inadequacies of what happened, particularly what Comey did.
Most important, "this is not a good day for James Comey," despite his boasts, Dershowitz concluded.
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