Trump hits back at Comey, calls him a 'leaker'
US President Donald Trump has called James Comey a "leaker" after the ousted FBI director accused the Trump administration of lying.
In his first response to Comey's remarks, Trump tweeted on Friday that his administration was completely vindicated despite “so many false statements and lies” told before the Senate Intelligence Committee and slammed the fired FBI chief for leaking documents about their private conversations.
"Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication…and WOW, Comey is a leaker!" the US president wrote.
At a congressional hearing session on Thursday, Comey accused Trump of trying to block a probe into ties between former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Russia, adding that the White House defamed him and the FBI in order to justify the last month dismissal.
"Although the law required no reason at all to fire the FBI director, the administration then chose to defame me and more importantly the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray, that it was poorly run, that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader…Those were lies, plain and simple," Comey testified.
“I was fired in some way to change, or the endeavor was to change, the way the Russia investigation was being conducted. That is a very big deal, not just because it’s me...but because of the crucial independent nature of FBI investigations,” he told senators.
The former FBI chief further noted that Trump had attempted to persuade him to drop an investigation into alleged Russian interference in the US 2016 election which tilted the results in favor of the then-GOP candidate.
During his almost three-hour hearing, Comey testified that the US president had expected “loyalty” from the FBI director and later urged him to drop the Flynn probe. "I hope you can let this go," he quoted Trump as saying in a February 14 meeting.
Last month, Trump set a political firestorm after he sacked the FBI chief citing what he called Comey’s poor performance.
Comey has been criticized by lawmakers in both Republican and Democratic Parties for his handling of investigations connected to the 2016 presidential election -- the Russia investigation as well as the inquiry into Hillary Clinton's email practices while she was secretary of state between 2009 and 2013.
Along with other Trump allies, Flynn is part of an investigation into possible collusion between the Republican president’s team and Russia, claims dismissed both by Trump and the Kremlin.
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