EX-FBI boss Comey hits back at lies and smears
Fired director tells Senate hearing the White House ‘chose to defame me and more importantly the FBI’
THE former director of the FBI yesterday accused the Trump administration of launching a campaign of lies to discredit him and federal agents after the president fired him to ease the pressure of his Russia investigation.
James Comey said he was so worried that the president might lie about their meetings that he decided to keep a written record of their conversations.
His dramatic testimony marked the first time he has spoken publicly since he was dismissed last month.
Opponents of Mr Trump said it raised troubling questions about his conduct as they pored over the testimony for evidence the president was guilty of obstruction of justice.
It centres on Mr Comey’s investigation into whether anyone on Mr Trump’s campaign colluded with Russian agents and their attempts to influence last year’s presidential election.
In forensic detail, Mr Comey described how he was made to feel his job depended on his loyalty to the president. “I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, so I thought it really important to document,” he said of his first meeting with the president. “I knew there might come a day when I might need a record of what happened not only to defend myself but to protect the FBI.”
That moment came when he was fired. After being praised for his work by the president, he said he learnt of his dismissal on TV. Then came briefings suggesting that he was not up to the job and had lost the support of staff.
“The administration then chose to defame me and more importantly the FBI, by saying the organisation was poorly led,” he said. “Those were lies, plain and simple.”
Washington ground to a halt in order to watch a hearing described as a cross between the Super Bowl and the Watergate hearings of the 1970s. Bars opened early to host “watch parties”.
Twice Mr Comey suggested that the president had lied.
The president’s personal lawyer said Mr Trump had never asked Mr Comey for his loyalty and accused him of leaking privileged conversations. Marc Kasowitz said: “Mr Comey has now confirmed publicy what he repeatedly told the president privately: the president was not under investigation as part of any probe in Russian interference.”
Demands for loyalty
Mr Comey said his concerns began during a one-to-one White House dinner soon after Mr Trump had been inaugurated. Conversation turned to his tenure as director and what he said felt like an attempt to forge a relationship based on patronage.
“I got the sense my job would be contingent upon how he felt I conducted myself and whether I demonstrated loyalty,” he said.
In February, Mr Trump emptied the Oval Office of staff before asking him to back off his investigation into Michael Flynn. The former army general had just been been fired as national security adviser for lying about his meetings with Russian officials. That exchange could provide the key to Mr Trump’s future. Any evidence that it amounted to an attempt to obstruct justice could be used by opponents to launch impeachment proceedings, just as it was against Richard Nixon.
“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,” said Mr Comey
Comey leaked to the press
After firing Mr Comey, the president tweeted that he might have secret recordings of their conversations.
Mr Comey said he then decided to ensure his own account reached the press: “I asked a friend of mine to share the content of a memo with the reporter ... I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.”
Mr Comey added that he still had no idea whether the president actually had tapes of their conversations, but added he hoped they existed. “Release all the tapes, I’m good with it,” he said.
‘I got the sense my job would be contingent upon how he felt I conducted myself and whether I [showed] loyalty’
No FBI investigation
Mr Comey confirmed that he told the president three times that he was not under investigation. He said Mr Trump asked him to go public with that information to “lift the cloud” hanging over his administration.
However, when he was asked whether he believed Mr Trump colluded with Russia Mr Comey replied: “That’s a question I don’t think I should answer in an open setting.”
Comey ‘sacked over Russia’
When asked why he was dismissed, Mr Comey said: “I take the president, at his word: that I was fired because of the Russia investigation. Something about the way I was conducting it, the president felt created pressure on him that he wanted to relieve.”
Clinton emails
Republicans were just as keen to discuss Mr Comey’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server when she was secretary of state.
Mr Comey admitted to being troubled that when he announced the probe he had called it a “matter” rather than an “investigation” at the insistence of Barack Obama’s attorney general.
“That concerned me because that language tracked the way the campaign was talking about the FBI’S work and that’s concerning,” he said.