“Where is that commitment to character and values?” said Comey, who is no longer a Republican. He asked if “people have convinced themselves, well we’ll trade it temporarily for a tax cut or a Supreme Court justice?

“As I say in the book, that’s a fool’s bargain. Because those values are all that you have. There’ll always be another Supreme Court justice, always another tax bill,” Comey continued. “You lose this, exactly what are you?”

He said he wants Republicans to think about how they would answer their grandchildren in the future if they ask about the events of today.

“Did you trade a tax cut for the rule of law, for equal protection of the laws, for the truth? Really, grandpa?” Comey said. “And so I hope they’ll ask themselves that question and realize they have to look above those policy issues and think about what matters most in this country.”