Trump says he’s fine with arresting CIA, FBI chiefs over Russiagate
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Trump says arresting the former FBI and CIA chiefs “would not bother” him, following Tulsi Gabbard’s declassification and DOJ probe into Russiagate's origins.
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US President Donald Trump walks at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, Saturday, August 30, 2025. (AP)
US President Donald Trump said he “would not be bothered” if former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan were arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation into the origins of the Russiagate probe.
In an interview with the Daily Caller, portions of which were released Saturday and which is set to air on Monday fully, Trump said he believed the former intelligence officials had “committed all the crimes” and suggested arrests “should” happen. However, he emphasized he was not directly involved in the process.
“Would not bother me at all,” Trump stated when asked if he’d be comfortable seeing Comey and Brennan handcuffed and arrested on live television. “They cheated, they lied, they did so many bad things, evil things that were so bad for the country,” he added, calling them “sick people.”
The remarks follow Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s recent decision to declassify Russiagate-related documents and refer the matter to the Justice Department for criminal investigation. Gabbard’s referral accuses top Obama-era national security officials of manipulating intelligence to fabricate links between Trump and Russia.
Trump takes 'hands off' approach
While Trump said arrests “should” happen, he claimed he was taking a hands-off approach. “I can say that they should be arrested,” he said, “but I purposely stay uninvolved. Whether they’re guilty or not, that’s for the process to determine.”
The controversy stems from years-long investigations into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and potential coordination with the Trump campaign. While Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s 2019 report alleged that Russia interfered in the election, it found insufficient evidence to charge anyone in Trump’s inner circle with conspiring with Russian operatives.
Earlier in the year, the Justice Department launched a new grand jury probe into allegations that national security officials conspired to falsely implicate Trump. The case was spurred by Gabbard’s referral and aims to determine whether former Obama administration officials misused their positions to manufacture the appearance of Trump-Russia collusion.
