On Sunday’s “Last Week Tonight,” John Oliver reveled in former FBI director James Comey’s testimony before a Senate panel on Thursday, as the incident helped fuel “Stupid Watergate” — or, as Oliver puts it, “Something with all the potential national shame of Watergate, brought to you by people too stupid to grasp the concept.”

In written testimony released Wednesday and verbal testimony given Thursday, Comey detailed several meetings and phone calls with President Trump in which Trump had asked for Comey’s loyalty, pressured him to drop the investigation of former national security advisor Mike Flynn, and asked what Comey could do to “lift the cloud” that was the Russia investigation.


Comey was fired by Trump in May.

On Sunday, after playfully calling Comey the “worst person to sit behind in a movie theater” — the former FBI head is 6 feet 8 inches tall — Oliver dove into Comey’s testimony, picking it apart piece by piece.

Oliver seemed almost delighted with Comey calling Trump’s representation of the FBI “lies, plain and simple.”

“Donald Trump’s lies are never plain and simple,” Oliver said, as a photo of Gene Wilder portraying Willy Wonka appeared on the screen. “Each one is like an everlasting gobstopper: You’ll never make it through every layer because it was produced by an insane person who should never be in charge of anything.”

Oliver also found hilarity in Comey saying he documented his meetings with Trump because he was afraid the president would lie about their interactions, comparing Comey’s uncomfortable feelings to those of a person who thought they were about to be murdered.

“’All of a sudden we were alone, so I texted my location to a friend and tried to get some of his DNA under my fingernails,’” Oliver quipped.


The late-night host also joked that Comey was “tricked into a one-on-one dinner with Donald Trump, which is definitely not the first time that has happened.”

Oliver also noted that when a senator asked Comey if he thought Trump colluded with Russia to meddle in the 2016 election, Comey responded, “That’s a question I don’t think I should answer in open setting.”

“ ‘Yeah, I can’t answer that question here, although I have been screaming the word ‘Yes’ into this paper bag for the last four weeks,’ ” Oliver joked, showing a Photoshopped picture of Comey holding up a paper bag.

The comedian also found levity in the president’s tweet the next day.

Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication...and WOW, Comey is a leaker! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2017

“Now, just think what he’s saying there. Trump is essentially saying he’s been vindicated by testimony he’s claiming is false,” Oliver said. “At this point, he’s become a walking logical paradox.”

Oliver also pointed out the confusion Trump created when the president said he would testify under oath about the incidents Comey mentioned.

“Trump just volunteered to testify under oath, putting himself in the situation where it’s his word against Comey’s,” Oliver said. “And it’s notable that for all the pushback senators gave Comey, they never once questioned his honesty and his integrity, or challenged his characterization of Trump as a liar.

“So why did Trump just seem to expose himself like that?” Oliver asked before looking genuinely puzzled. “I don’t know. I cannot explain his behavior. Jane Goodall cannot explain his behavior.”

The HBO show host also hit at House Speaker Paul Ryan, who said Trump just simply was “new to this” and probably did not fully understand the protocols that keep the FBI separate from the president.


Oliver pointed out that some jobs — a daycare teacher, for example — could get away with that excuse.

But not the president of the United States.

“If you work at a daycare and on your first day you mix up the three Olivias, no big deal. You’re new here,” Oliver said. “But if on your first day you set up a baby fight club, that is not OK, and you should have known that before you started. And a president attempting to shut down an investigation into a subordinate is pretty firmly the latter option here.”