Comey testifies that Trump defamed FBI

WASHINGTON — Former FBI director James Comey accused US President Donald Trump on Thursday of firing him to try to undermine an investigation into possible collusion by Trump’s campaign team with Russia’s alleged efforts to influence the 2016 election.

Comey also revealed that he’d orchestrated the public release of information about his private conversations with the president in an effort to further the investigation.

In the most eagerly anticipated US congressional hearing in years, Comey told lawmakers the Trump administration had lied and defamed him and the Federal Bureau of Investigation after the president dismissed him on May 9.

Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders disputed Comey’s testimony when asked about it during an off-camera briefing at the White House, saying “I can definitely say the president’s not a liar.”

During more than two hours of testimony, Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee he believed Trump had directed him in February to drop an FBI probe into the Republican president’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn as part of the broader Russia investigation.

Sitting alone at a small table facing a bank of senators who fired question after question, Comey gave short, deliberative answers. He painted a picture of an overbearing president he did not trust and who pressured him to stop the Flynn probe.

Comey, however, did not make any major new revelations about any links between Trump or his associates and Russia.

President Trump’s personal attorney disputed and discredited Comey’s testimony, suggesting the ousted FBI director should be prosecuted for leaking “privileged information”.

Shortly after Comey’s televised statements, Trump’s personal lawyer Marc Kasowitz made a brief appearance at the National Press Club.

“The president never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone,” Kasowitz said, reading a statement.

“The president also never told Mr. Comey, ‘I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.’ He never said it in any form and he never said it in substance,” the lawyer said.

The attorney attacked Comey for testifying that he used a friend to leak to a reporter his notes on a meeting with Trump. He suggested Comey may face prosecution.