Former Detroit FBI head: 'bad timing' for Comey interview, book

(WJBK) - In an exclusive one-on-one interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, former FBI director James Comey spoke out in sometimes salacious detail about his former boss.  

All of this while the former FBI director before him, Robert Mueller, takes on the role of special counsel investigating possible meddling by Russians in the 2016 election. 
   
Andy Arena, former head of the FBI in Detroit, worked directly under Mueller when he was his boss and he worked for James Comey as a young FBI agent in New York when Comey was a prosecutor. 

"This discord is not good," he said. "I think it does damage to the FBI in certain people's views. It's going to damage the president in other people's view.  I don't think it helps the country. It doesn't heal anything."

The president himself quick to lash back out at Comey's remarks on ABC:
 

But the bad blood between Comey and the president while both worked together may sound familiar. Just think back to President Clinton.  

"Bill Clinton had asked to look at some FBI files with relations to Whitewater. Freeh refused to do it, he basically told him I'm going to fire you. Freeh said go ahead we'll fight it out in Congress. And the president knew that was probably a bad idea and so he backed off. They didn't talk to each other for five full years," he said.

Arena says his former boss Bob Mueller is stubbornly thorough and passionately fierce in finding the truth. He has tremendous respect for Comey too. The interview Comey did comes on the heels of a new book. 
  
Arena says he wonders if this interview was too much too soon.  

"You've got to be above this. There's a time and a place for you to make your statements. I don't know this is the time and place for Jim Comey to be making these statements."