Former Director of Federal Bureau of Investigations James Comey speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, in Washington D.C., theUnited States, on June 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)
Former Director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) James Comey on Thursday told Congress the contents of his interactions with U.S. President Donald Trump since election day, amid concerns that Trump tried to interfere with an ongoing probe on Russia.
Comey, who was sacked by Trump last month, was questioned by the Senate Intelligence Committee as well as Senators John McCain and Jack Reed in a two-and-half-an-hour open session, during which he said Trump had lied about himself and the FBI, but stopped short of accusing Trump of interfering with FBI investigations.
Comey, speaking under oath, said the administration had offered "shifting explanations" about why he was fired.
"It confused me when I saw on television the president saying that he actually fired me because of the Russia investigation," he said, adding that the initial explanation that was offered publicly was "that I was fired because of the decisions I had made during the election year."
"The administration then chose to defame me and, more importantly, the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray," Comey said. "Those were lies, plain and simple."
According to a written statement from Comey which the Senate released Wednesday, Trump had three main requests for Comey during their dialogues.
During a dinner on Jan. 27, Trump said he wanted loyalty from Comey, to which Comey offered honesty. The two men later agreed that Comey would give his "honest loyalty."
Comey said during his testament that he had never been asked for loyalty from others, and did not know whether Trump had asked other cabinet members for loyalty.
Comey said he was for the first and last time asked by Trump to drop the investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's contacts with Russia in a meeting on Feb. 14.
"I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go," Comey quoted Trump as saying.
Comey said he had conceded that Flynn was a "good guy" but did not commit to freezing any investigations.
Comey said neither Trump nor anyone from the White House or the Justice Department brought up the matter again, and that Trump's remarks did not impede any investigations.
Senator James Risch of Idaho, a staunch Trump supporter, said wordings in the conversation indicated that Trump did not direct nor order Comey to drop the case, to which Comey agreed but insisted that he "took it as a direction."
Comey said he did not know any cases in which anyone has been charged for "hoping something."
Another reoccurring theme in the Comey-Trump meetings was whether the FBI should make public the fact that Trump was not subject to investigations, which Comey had voluntarily told Trump in private settings.
"He described the Russia investigation as a cloud that was impairing his ability to act on behalf of the country," Comey said of Trump in a phone call on March 30, adding that Trump had asked how to "lift the cloud."
To this Comey said the FBI was investigating as fast as possible but believed it to be a bad idea to make public statements primarily because "it would create a duty to correct, should that change."
"Why, of all the things in this investigation, the only thing that's never been leaked is the fact that the president was not personally under investigation?" Florida Senator Marco Rubio asked.
Comey said he didn't know.
Comey said all of the contents of each conversation with Trump were recorded right after each conversation based on memory, because he was concerned that the president may "lie about the nature of our meeting."
Comey said he had never felt the necessity to record the contents of conversations with former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.
After his firing, Comey released some of the records to the public through a friend, saying it was his right as a private citizen to feed media unclassified information.
Comey also said a New York Times report published in February titled "Trump campaign aides had repeated contacts with Russian intelligence" was false, but the FBI was not in a place to publicly deny the reporting.
After the release of Comey's written statement Wednesday, Trump's attorney, Marc Kasowitz, said the president felt "completely and totally vindicated," but he denied that Trump had told Comey "I need loyalty, I expect loyalty."
The White House on Thursday also refuted Comey's testimony, saying the president had not lied.
"I can definitively say the president is not a liar. I think it is frankly insulting that question would be asked," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told an off-camera briefing.
