President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani Rudy GiulianiThe Hill's Campaign Report: GOP set to ask SCOTUS to limit mail-in voting CIA found Putin 'probably directing' campaign against Biden: report Democrats fear Russia interference could spoil bid to retake Senate MORE hit back at former FBI Director James Comey James Brien ComeyDemocrats fear Russia interference could spoil bid to retake Senate Book: FBI sex crimes investigator helped trigger October 2016 public probe of Clinton emails Trump jabs at FBI director over testimony on Russia, antifa MORE late Friday after Comey blasted the attorney general for "sliming" the Department of Justice (DOJ).

"Someone should tell Jim Comey no one really respects him or wants to hear from him," Giuliani wrote on Twitter.

Giuliani argued that Democrats wanted Comey fired for "sliming Hillary" by describing the thinking behind the probe into her emails, while Republicans "believe he committed perjury and abused his power as FBI Director."

Someone should tell Jim Comey no one really respects him or wants to hear from him. The Dems wanted him fired when he violated DOJ ethics in sliming Hillary. Rs believe he committed perjury and abused his power as FBI Director. — Rudy Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) May 18, 2019

The Trump lawyer pushed back after Comey accused Attorney General William Barr Bill BarrHarris faces pivotal moment with Supreme Court battle Hillicon Valley: DOJ proposes tech liability shield reform to Congress | Treasury sanctions individuals, groups tied to Russian malign influence activities | House Republican introduces bill to set standards for self-driving cars McCarthy threatens motion to oust Pelosi if she moves forward with impeachment MORE of "sliming his own department" by questioning the inception of the federal probe into Russian efforts to interfere in the election and possible links between Trump campaign officials and Moscow.

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Barr in an interview with Fox News this week defended the DOJ review of the early stages of the Russia probe, criticizing officials for providing "inadequate" explanations and saying he wanted to get to the bottom of whether "government officials abused their power and put their thumb on the scale."

"I'm not saying that happened, but it's something we have to look at," he said.

Comey, a vocal critic of Trump since he was fired by the president in 2017, ripped into the attorney general on Twitter on Friday night, writing, "An AG must act like the leader of the Department of Justice, an organization based on truth. Donald Trump has enough spokespeople."

"If there are bad facts, show us, or search for them professionally and then tell us what you found," he tweeted.

The AG should stop sliming his own Department. If there are bad facts, show us, or search for them professionally and then tell us what you found. An AG must act like the leader of the Department of Justice, an organization based on truth. Donald Trump has enough spokespeople. — James Comey (@Comey) May 18, 2019

Barr reportedly assigned a federal prosecutor this week to examine the origins of the federal Russia probe and has been saying for weeks that he wants to review the actions of DOJ and FBI officials leading up to the start of the investigation.

The attorney general has claimed that unauthorized "spying" took place during the summer of 2016 targeting the Trump campaign.

Comey, who led the federal Russia probe before being fired, has said he has "no idea" what Barr meant when he described "spying" on the part of law enforcement officials.

"Well, that’s not the term I would use," FBI Director Christopher Wray said during a congressional hearing earlier this month.

Trump this week called Wray's testimony "ridiculous," saying he believed "the attorney general answered it perfectly."