Ryan on Comey: ‘He’s not’ a nut job

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) does not consider former FBI Director James Comey a “nut job.”

“Yeah, I don’t agree with that,” he said Wednesday, when asked if he’s concerned about the comment President Trump reportedly made about Comey. “And he’s not.”

“I like Jim Comey,” Ryan added, speaking at an Axios News Shapers event in Washington. “I know that there are people on both sides of the aisle concerned by decisions that he made.”

{mosads}“I think he was forced into nearly impossible decisions. Understandably, he was going to be criticized for making those decisions, but I think he served his country ably.”

The New York Times reported last week that Trump called Comey a “nut job” during an Oval Office meeting with two Russian officials.

“I just fired the head of the FBI,” he said, according to a report based on a summary of the meeting obtained by The Times. “He was crazy, a real nut job.”

White House press secretary Sean Spicer did not deny the conversation took place and was instead critical of Comey’s “grandstanding” as FBI director.

“By grandstanding and politicizing the investigation into Russia’s actions, James Comey created unnecessary pressure on our ability to engage and negotiate with Russia,” he said.

“The investigation would have always continued, and obviously, the termination of Comey would not have ended it.”

Trump’s May 10 meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak took place one day after the president fired Comey.

Comey’s ouster came amid the FBI’s ongoing probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential race, including possible ties between Russia and Trump’s campaign.