Patrick Byrne, who just resigned as Overstock’s CEO after revealing a romantic relationship with accused Russian spy Maria Butina, claimed in a wild CNN interview Thursday night that the highest echelons of the FBI directed him to pursue the tryst.

Byrne appeared on CNN with Chris Cuomo shortly after two, back-to-back bonkers interviews on Fox Business and then Fox News, in which he suggested that former FBI agent Peter Strzok, former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe and former FBI director James Comey directed him to engage in a romantic relationship with Butina.

On CNN, Cuomo pressed an often evasive Byrne to make clear what he was alleging.

“Just to be clear Patrick, so people understand what’s going on here, the FBI wanted to you continue your association to get information,” Cuomo said. “They never told you you needed to have romantic relationship with somebody?”

“Well eventually, yes they did,” Byrne said.

“They told you you needed to have romantic relationship with somebody!?” Cuomo exclaimed.

“That’s what I’m getting to,” Byrne confirmed, saying the order came from FBI officials he identified as “X, Y, Z.” Later in the CNN interview, he identified “Z” as Comey.

Byrne went on to explain, after some coaxing from Cuomo, that the FBI approached him in July 2016 regarding their Russia investigation.

“The Men in Black,” Byrne said, told him: “This never happens in the United States. We’re the good guys. We don’t work like the bad guys. But we need to ask to you rekindle a romantic relationship with Maria Butina.”

“Members of the FBI, that you’re sure were members of the FBI, asked you to do this? And you know their names?” Cuomo asked. “You believe that Jim Comey knew that you were being asked to do these things in the name of the United States government?”

“Not only knew,” Byrne said, adding he was “specifically told” by a federal agent that “this request is coming from Jim Comey.”

“And James Comey knew?” Cuomo asked later in the interview.

“100 percent,” Byrne replied.

Watch above, via CNN.

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