Trump allies slam fired FBI Director James Comey as 'showboat' in new ad

Fredreka Schouten | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Some of President Trump's allies are going on the attack against fired FBI Director James Comey.

A pro-Trump group, the Great America Alliance, plans to air a television commercial that labels Comey, a "D.C. insider" and a "showboat" on Thursday, the same day of Comey's highly anticipated testimony before a Senate committee.

The hard-hitting spot accuses Comey of putting "politics over protecting America" and said he was a "consumed with election meddling" in 2016, rather than confronting terrorist threats.

The 30-second ad will air digitally on Wednesday and will run on Fox, CNN and MSNBC on Thursday. The nonprofit group, which does not have to disclose its donors, plans to spend more than $400,000 over the next three days, officials say.

Comey's testimony before the Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence will mark the first public comments by the former FBI director since Trump fired him in May. The ad mirrors Trump's efforts to challenge Comey's credibility and competence. In an interview after the firing, Trump criticized Comey as a "showboat" and "grandstander."

Comey is expected to face questions about his private conversations with Trump before his abrupt firing and the FBI's probe into possible collusion between Trump associates and Russian interests ahead of the 2016 election.

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Tomi Lahren, the firebrand conservative commentator who serves as a senior adviser to the Great America Alliance, said the ad is aimed at setting "the record straight in advance of and during his testimony."

"We look forward to putting this behind us so we can refocus on the America First initiatives this president is rolling out in the coming weeks," she said in a statement.