Ousted FBI chief James Comey declined to say whether Donald Trump’s request that he back off a probe of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn constituted obstruction of justice and called the president’s shifting explanations for firing him “lies, plain and simple.”
At the start of Thursday’s hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Comey went into greater detail on nine one-on-one conversations with Trump that started two weeks before the president’s inauguration. He said he took detailed notes after each encounter because he was concerned that Trump would lie, a measure he didn’t feel was necessary in his dealing with previous presidents.
"I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting so I thought it was important to document it," Comey said.
Comey, making his first public appearance since Trump dismissed him May 9, was urged by lawmakers to “set the record straight” about his interactions with Trump at the start of the long-anticipated hearing. He said he felt Trump’s decision to fire him was confusing.
“He had repeatedly told me I was doing a great job and hoped I would stay,” Comey said. But after he was fired, he said “the administration chose to defame me” and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Read Why Trump’s Pressure on Comey May Have Been Wrong But Not Illegal
According to prepared remarks released Wednesday, Comey detailed one encounter over dinner at the White House in January, when Trump told the nation’s top law enforcement officer, “I need loyalty. I expect loyalty.” At the time, the FBI chief was leading a federal inquiry into whether Trump associates colluded with Russia before and after the 2016 election.
Comey said a awkward silence followed the president’s statement. When Trump returned to the issue of loyalty later in the meal, Comey said he could offer “honesty.”
The following month, a day after Flynn was dismissed, Comey said Trump pressed him to ease up on the inquiry into his former aide, which was tied to the Russia probe. “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” Trump said, according to Comey. “He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”
Comey said he responded that Flynn “is a good guy,” but added that “I did not say I would ‘let this go.”’
Committee Chairman Richard Burr of North Carolina said lawmakers want to know if Trump’s apparent efforts to weigh in on the investigation in any way affected the probe.
“We will establish the facts separate from rampant speculation and lay them out before the American people to make their own judgment,” Burr said. “Today is your opportunity to set the record straight. The American people need to hear your side of the story just as they need to hear the president’s descriptions of events.”
Trump disputes key aspects of Comey’s account, according to a person close to the president’s outside legal team. Trump did not say that he wanted Comey’s loyalty and did not ask Comey to drop any case against Flynn, the person said. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, didn’t immediately clarify whether Trump is saying that the conversations didn’t happen, or that Comey mischaracterized the president’s intentions.
Senator Mark Warner, the committee’s top Democrat, said Comey’s prepared testimony painted a damning portrait of Trump.
“Think about it: the President of the United States asking the FBI Director to drop an ongoing investigation,” Warner said at the start of the hearing.
0 comments:
Post a Comment