James Comey quote-tweeted himself — literally, this is his own quote — in an apparent response to criticism leveled at the former FBI director this weekend by President Donald Trump:

“I want the American people to know this truth: The FBI is honest. The FBI is strong. And the FBI is, and always will be, independent.”

Me (June 8, 2017) pic.twitter.com/OZ1ZiBrMNL — James Comey (@Comey) December 3, 2017

That’s a lot of rear ends there:

there is a lot of butt in this tweet https://t.co/lc4UAlT5Jn — Ruthless T. Firefly (@BecketAdams) December 3, 2017

We’ll assume the butt shots are to protect agent privacy, but it’s still a weird meme to post:

Quoting himself in a meme now. He is genuinely the weirdest person in the universe. https://t.co/MX3sLWd8Uz — Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) December 3, 2017

when u break up with ur ex and she starts reading naomi wolf, doing yoga, and becomes an "independent woman" https://t.co/ZP8bTbaHRp — Joe Gabriel Simonson (@SaysSimonson) December 3, 2017

The president has been on a tear against Comey and the FBI all weekend:

Report: “ANTI-TRUMP FBI AGENT LED CLINTON EMAIL PROBE” Now it all starts to make sense! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2017

After years of Comey, with the phony and dishonest Clinton investigation (and more), running the FBI, its reputation is in Tatters – worst in History! But fear not, we will bring it back to greatness. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2017

Tainted (no, very dishonest?) FBI “agent’s role in Clinton probe under review.” Led Clinton Email probe. @foxandfriends Clinton money going to wife of another FBI agent in charge. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2017

I never asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn. Just more Fake News covering another Comey lie! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2017

The FBI Agents Association responded to the president’s tweets:

FBIAA President Thomas O’Connor (@tfoconnor83) issued the following statement today: (1/3) — FBI Agents Assoc. (@FBIAgentsAssoc) December 3, 2017

(2/3) “Every day, FBI Special Agents put their lives on the line to protect the American public from national security and criminal threats. Agents perform these duties with unwavering integrity and professionalism and a focus on complying with the law and the Constitution.” — FBI Agents Assoc. (@FBIAgentsAssoc) December 3, 2017

(3/3) ”This is why the FBI continues to be the premier law enforcement agency in the world. FBI Agents are dedicated to their mission; suggesting otherwise is simply false.” — FBI Agents Assoc. (@FBIAgentsAssoc) December 3, 2017

As did Eric Holder…

Nope. Not letting this go. The FBI’s reputation is not in “tatters”. It’s composed of the same dedicated men and women who have always worked there and who do a great, apolitical job. You’ll find integrity and honesty at FBI headquarters and not at 1600 Penn Ave right now — Eric Holder (@EricHolder) December 3, 2017

…and Preet Bharara:

Praise to high heaven Putin, Duterte, Erdogan. Heap scorn and contempt on your own FBI. This is called ass-backwards. — Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) December 3, 2017

Buckle up — Next week should be fun.

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