Less than an hour after President Donald Trump disparaged the FBI on Twitter, former FBI Director James Comey fired back, criticizing the president for “degrading” the agency and slamming the “two years of Trump’s lies” that it has endured since he was fired in May 2017.

In defense of his former colleagues at the FBI, Comey asserted that it “remains a revered institution made up of good people focused on finding truth and doing justice.” He also encouraged those at the agency to “stay true to our mission. America needs you.”

Despite two years of Trump’s lies aimed at degrading the FBI, it remains a revered institution made up of good people focused on finding truth and doing justice. Stay true to your mission. America needs you. — James Comey (@Comey) September 4, 2019

Earlier on Tuesday evening, Trump had blasted the federal law enforcement agency, quoting Fox Business host — and unswervingly loyal Trump supporter — Lou Dobbs, who claimed the public is “disgusted with the FBI” and that the nation is suffering a “crisis of confidence” in the agency. Comey was recently admonished in a Justice Department Inspector General’s report, which concluded that he violated agency protocol when he leaked memos about his meetings with Trump to his personal lawyer, who then leaked them to the press. The IG report did not, however, find that Comey leaked classified materials, contrary to Trump’s numerous claims.

Dobbs, notably, did not cite any hard evidence for his claim about the FBI’s unpopularity, either. Data from a May 2019 Gallup poll directly contradicts him, as it found that 57 percent of the public gave the FBI a positive rating. In fact, historical Gallup data shows the FBI’s approval remains at near-record highs, and has never dipped below majority support in the past 16 years.

Photo credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images.

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