Lies, spies, Russian ties
COMEY’S EXPLOSIVE TRUMP CLAIMS
SACKED FBI director James Comey branded Donald Trump a liar as he gave explosive evidence into alleged Russian interference in US elections.
He accused the Trump administration of dishonestly claiming he was fired because the crime agency was falling apart under his leadership.
Instead, Mr Comey insisted he was sacked last month because of his handling of the FBI’s investigation into possible Trump campaign collusion with Moscow.
He also claimed he had been so worried the President would lie about their meetings that he took detailed notes of discussions. After accusing Mr Trump’s White House of spreading “lies, plain and simple” about him and the FBI, he admitted he ensured his memos were leaked to the Press in order to spark an investigation by a special counsel. The admission prompted Mr Trump’s lawyer to respond accusing Mr Comey of the “unauthorised disclosure” of “privileged communications”.
He suggested the former crime agency boss himself should be investigated for leaking the memos.
A statement also made clear the President denies several of the damning pieces of evidence, which Mr Comey gave under oath to a Senate intelligence committee that lasted nearly three hours.
The former FBI boss accused Mr Trump of ordering him to stop investigating former national security advisor Michael Flynn, who had been sacked over his dealings with Russia.
He described how the President told him in February he “hoped“the FBI chief would ‘’let Flynn go’’ as he was a ‘’good guy’’. Mr Comey said he took those remarks as a “direction” and an “order” from Mr Trump to drop the investigation. He insisted it was up to others to decide if this amounted to obstruction of justice — a crime that could possibly lead to the President being impeached.
“I don’t think it’s for me to say whether the conversation I had with the President was an effort to obstruct. I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning,” Mr Comey told the committee.
Mr Comey’s testimony came after weeks of speculation that he could deliver a fatal blow to an administration that continues to be dogged by claims that members of the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.
In Washington, office staff took the morning off and headed to their local bars to watch the testimony as if it was a sports final.
In extraordinary claims, Mr Comey said of his dismissal: “The administration chose to defame me and, more importantly, the FBI by saying that the organisation was in disarray, that it was poorly led, that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader.
“Those were lies, plain and simple, and I’m so sorry that the FBI workforce had to hear them, and I’m so sorry the American people were told them.” He told the committee panel: “It’s my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation. I was fired in some way to change, or the endeavour was to change, the way the Russia investigation was being conducted. “That is a very big deal.” The President told a rally yesterday: ”We are under siege, but will come back stronger”.