Former FBI director James Comey said in a New York Times op-ed published Thursday that he neither knows nor cares what the conclusion of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation will be -- so long as the probe was conducted properly.
US President Donald Trump abruptly fired Comey in 2017, triggering a series of events that led to Mueller being named to investigate allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election and that the Trump campaign colluded in that effort.
"I have no idea whether the special counsel will conclude that Mr. Trump knowingly conspired with the Russians in connection with the 2016 election or that he obstructed justice with the required corrupt intent," Comey wrote.
"I also don't care. I care only that the work be done, well and completely." The highly-anticipated Mueller report has been said to be imminent for several weeks. One element of the investigation is whether Trump's firing of Comey amounted to obstruction of justice.
Since his dismissal, Comey has emerged as an outspoken critic of Trump -- including publishing a book last year that detailed his soured relationship with the president.
But in the op-ed, he stopped short of joining many Trump critics in calling for his impeachment -- arguing that would deepen political divisions even further in an already fractured US society.
"Even though I believe Mr. Trump is morally unfit to be president of the United States, I'm not rooting for Mr. Mueller to demonstrate that he is a criminal," he wrote, an argument he has also made previously.
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"I'm also not rooting for Mr. Mueller to 'clear' the president," he added.
"I am rooting for a demonstration to the world - and maybe most of all to our president and his enablers - that the United States has a justice system that works.