Former FBI Director James Comey said this week he "loved" the media for driving him crazy during his time leading the bureau.

During an appearance at the University of Southern California's Annenberg Media Center on Monday, Comey praised the press for making him a better leader by being aware reporters were "hunting for the truth and hunting for leaks."

"Knowing that you were there, metaphorically, made me a better leader," he said. "Knowing that eventually, you were going to tell the world what I did and why I did it made me a better decision-maker."

This constant oversight came with a cost, one that Comey said he ultimately appreciated.

"The media drove me crazy when I was in leadership roles at the FBI and the Department of Justice," Comey said, adding, "and I loved you."





Comey's praise for the media stands in stark contrast to Trump's often bellicose comments about news outlets that publish critical reports he dislikes, dubbing them "fake news."

Comey was fired as FBI director in May 2017 by President Trump, after which Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed special counsel Robert Mueller to take command of the bureau's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Comey has been highly critical of Trump ever since, comparing his governing style to that of mob boss behavior.

In an explosive interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" on Thursday, Comey's former deputy, Andrew McCabe, said he ordered an obstruction of justice investigation into Trump after Comey was fired.

[Read more: McCabe: Rosenstein suggested John Kelly, Jeff Sessions might help remove Trump from office]

The Washington Post first reported in June 2017 that Mueller had begun looking into possible obstruction, and CNN later reported McCabe had been the one to initiate the effort and that it also included a look at Trump's private conversation with Comey, described in memos he wrote and leaked to the media, in which the president asked his then-FBI director to drop an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.