Donald Trump was instantly fact-checked by 60 Minutes after claiming he is not pressuring the Department of Justice to target his enemies.
CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell asked Trump whether he instructed the DOJ to “go after” and indict former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and former national security adviser John Bolton during the interview broadcast Sunday.
“Not in any way, shape, or form,” Trump said. “You don’t have to instruct them, because they were so dirty, they were so crooked, they were so corrupt that the honest people we have—[Attorney General] Pam Bondi is doing a very good job, [FBI Director] Kash Patel is doing a very good job—the honest people that we have go after them automatically.”
After Trump dismissed the idea that he is using the DOJ as part of a revenge campaign, 60 Minutes then brought up on screen a September Truth Social post Trump shared publicly, which was allegedly meant to be a private message to Bondi.
In a voice-over, O’Donnell described how an irate Trump accused Comey and James of being “guilty as hell” and said that “justice must be served.”
“I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, ‘same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done,’” Trump wrote in the post addressed to “Pam.”
Five days after Trump sent the post, Comey was indicted on disputed charges of lying to Congress over leaks about the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election during Senate testimony in 2020.
Weeks later, James—who successfully prosecuted Trump for filing fraudulent financial statements—was indicted on federal bank fraud charges. Bolton, a prominent critic of the president, was also charged in October with allegedly mishandling classified documents.
O’Donnell then asked Trump if the charges against the longtime critics and officials who investigated him amounted to “retribution.”
“It’s the opposite. I think I’ve been very mild-mannered,” Trump said. “You’re looking at a man who was indicted many times, and I had to beat the rap, otherwise I couldn’t run for president. They tried to get me not to run for president by going after me and by indicting me.”
Comey, James, and Bolton have all denied the charges against them and accuse their cases of being motivated by Trump’s revenge plot.
