Donald Trump, US PresidentU.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at former FBI Director on Friday morning, calling him a leaker and concluding that he had been vindicated following Mr. James Comey’s explosive and blockbuster Senate hearing on Thursday.
“Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication…and WOW, Comey is a leaker!,” President Trump said in a surprisingly delayed tweet on Friday morning.
Mr. Comey told the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday morning that President Trump was a liar who had directed him to drop a criminal investigation into his fired National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn.
Mr. Flynn was fired after it was reported that he had undisclosed contacts/conversations with the Russian Ambassador to the United States.
American intelligence agencies have said that the Russians meddled into the 2016 Presidential election and helped Trump defeat Hillary Clinton with deadly leaks.
The FBI was trying to establish whether the Russians connived with Mr. Trump campaign to attack the United States and undermine democracy.
It was while Mr. Comey was doing that investigation that Mr. Trump asked him for loyalty and to let Mr. Flynn go before eventually firing him after the President determined that he could not trust Mr. Comey on the Russia investigation anymore.
Mr. Comey said repeatedly at the hearing on Thursday that he was uncomfortable with the president’s requests for loyalty. He said the administration lied and defamed him after he was unexpectedly fired in May.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump was expected to live-tweet but he did not, apparently on the advice of his legal team. But on Friday morning, he could no longer take it and fired back with a tweet.
Before President Trump hit back on Friday morning, his lawyer had also tagged Mr. Comey a leaker.
In a brief statement before a room packed with journalists, Mr. Marc Kasowitz, Trump’s lawyer, said: “It is overwhelmingly clear that there have been and continue to be those in government who are actively attempting to undermine this administration with selective and illegal leaks of classified information and privileged communications. Mr. Comey has now admitted that he is one of the leakers.”
Comey admitted leaking the content of his memo to the New York Times to prompt the appointment of an independent prosecutor and after the administration began to defame him.