Stunning and explosive testimony from former director of the FBI James Comey in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee about his conversations with U.S. president Donald Trump.
In his written testimony, Comey says on February 14 Trump allegedly said to him, during a private meeting in the Oval office that ‘I hope you can see your way to letting this go, to letting [former National Security advisor Michael] Flynn go. He is a good guy, I hope you can let this go.’
“General Flynn at that point in time was in legal jeopardy, there was an open FBI criminal investigation of his statements in connections with the Russian contacts and the Russians themselves,” Comey testified in front of the committee.
“So that was my assessment at the time. 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.”
Comey says that he did take that statement from the president to be an order.
Comey has testified that he began writing records of his one-on-one conversation with Trump after a meeting the two had at Trump Tower on January 6. Asked what it was about that meeting that led him to believe he needed to start doing that he said circumstances, the subject matter, and the nature of the person.
“I was honestly concerned he might lie about the nature of our meeting, and so I thought it really important to document. That combination of things I’ve never experienced before but it led me to believe I’ve gotta write it down and I’ve gotta write it down in a very detailed way,” says Comey.
In response to a tweet from president Donald Trump, Comey said ‘lordy, I hope there are tapes.”
James Comey better hope that there are no “tapes” of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017
Comey says the administration chose to defame him and the FBI by saying the organization was in disarray, poorly lead and that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader.
“Those were lies, plain and simple,” says Comey, “and I’m so sorry that the FBI workforce had to hear them, and I’m so sorry the American people were told them.”
Asked whether he believes this will rise to obstruction of justice, Comey responded that’s special counsel on the Russia probe Bob Mueller’s job to sort out.
(photo via CSPAN)