Allies of President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE took to Twitter on Thursday to blast former FBI Director James Comey James Brien ComeySteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Judge will not dismiss McCabe's case against DOJ Democrats fear Russia interference could spoil bid to retake Senate MORE after a Justice Department watchdog released a scathing report which found he violated bureau policies with his handling of official memos, including one that contained classified information.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We conclude that Comey’s retention, handling, and dissemination of certain Memos violated Department and FBI policies, and his FBI Employment Agreement,” the inspector general report states while adding that “much of the content of the Memos was directly tied to FBI investigative activities.”

Comey shared the memos with a friend, who gave the contents to a New York Times reporter.

Comey responded to the report on Twitter by pointing out that it did not find that he leaked classified information to the media. Comey tweeted that he didn't need "a public apology from those who defamed me, but a quick message with a 'sorry we lied about you' would be nice."

DOJ IG "found no evidence that Comey or his attorneys released any of the classified information contained in any of the memos to members of the media." I don’t need a public apology from those who defamed me, but a quick message with a “sorry we lied about you” would be nice. — James Comey (@Comey) August 29, 2019

His tweet brought a flood of critical responses from the president's allies.

Sen. Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin GrahamLincoln Project mocks Lindsey Graham's fundraising lag with Sarah McLachlan-themed video The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Republicans lawmakers rebuke Trump on election Trump dumbfounds GOP with latest unforced error MORE (R-S.C.) called the report a "stunning and unprecedented rebuke."

The Inspector General’s report is a stunning and unprecedented rebuke of a former Director of the FBI. — Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) August 29, 2019

Kayleigh McEnany, a spokeswoman for President Trump's reelection campaign, highlighted critical portions of the watchdog report.

This is EXTRAORDINARY! Inspector General found that Jim Comey...



* “failed to live up to... responsibility”

* “set a dangerous example”

* did not “safeguard sensitive information” & “used it to create public pressure for official action”@realDonaldTrump was RIGHT to fire him! — Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) August 29, 2019

A number of conservative media figures also piled on. Commentator Dan Bongino said Comey was "celebrating" a report that highlighted his "disregard for the rules."

Comey celebrating a report, which clearly lays out his ethical depravity and disregard for the rules of his employment, is the Comiest Comey thing ever. What a clown this guy is. — Dan Bongino (@dbongino) August 29, 2019

And conservative Buck Sexton knocked Comey as "self-righteous bureaucrat."

So James Comey was- it’s official now- a sanctimonious, self-righteous bureaucrat who believed in holding other people to standards that he himself was free to break when he saw fit



This should surprise no one — Buck Sexton (@BuckSexton) August 29, 2019

Ben Shapiro mocked Comey by referring to a viral photo the former FBI chief shared of himself in a forest after Attorney General William Barr Bill BarrFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Why a backdoor to encrypted data is detrimental to cybersecurity and data integrity FBI official who worked with Mueller raised doubts about Russia investigation MORE shared the findings of special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE's investigation with Congress.

There is only one way for James Comey to fight this report: by releasing a photo of himself staring at the ocean https://t.co/0aeDkMPjav — Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 29, 2019

There was also criticism from other quarters, with Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume saying Comey owed an apology for his actions.

So Comey wants an apology because while he violated department policy and his contractual obligations by leaking, he didn’t leak classified info. How about a “sorry I leaked that information in violation of both policy and my contract?” https://t.co/Ny3Oxe8p7t — Brit Hume (@brithume) August 29, 2019

And journalist Glenn Greenwald, co-founder of The Intercept, called the report "devastating" to Comey's reputation.

The final condemnation of @Comey from the IG is devastating. Comey has always been a complete fraud: a dangerous one. Read the conclusion pic.twitter.com/mgCsHtsPRP — Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) August 29, 2019

In the report, Inspector General Michael Horowitz declined to make a recommendation as to whether to charge Comey.

Comey was fired by President Trump in May 2017 as his agency investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election. Questions about whether Trump was seeking to obstruct an investigation led shortly after to the special counsel probe led by former FBI Director Robert Mueller.