US President Donald Trump feels 'totally vindicated' by ex-FBI chief James Comey's Russian probe testimony

Members of the public queue to watch James Comey's testimony
David Gardner8 June 2017

Donald Trump feels “totally vindicated” by former FBI Director James Comey ahead of today’s grilling by US lawmakers investigating suspected Russian ties to last year’s presidential election.

Mr Trump’s remarks came after the fired bureau chief released his written testimony in advance of his appearance in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The Capitol Hill examination of Mr Comey’s relationship with the president could mark the biggest threat yet to Mr Trump’s nascent administration, with some legal analysts suggesting his evidence could even trigger future impeachment proceedings for an alleged attempt to obstruct justice.

But Mr Trump sought to seize the initiative in the high stakes drama last night by issuing a statement through his lawyer Marc Kasowitz suggesting he had already been cleared of any culpability by Mr Comey.

“The president is pleased that Mr Comey has finally publicly confirmed his private reports that the President was not under investigation in any Russian probe,” said Mr Kasowitz.

Testified: James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington.
AP

“The president feels completely and totally vindicated. He is eager to continue to move forward with his agenda,” he added.

In prepared testimony that was certain to come under the microscope this afternoon, Mr Comey wrote of Mr Trump’s claim that he was told he was not under investigation: “That was true; we did not have an open counter-intelligence case on him. We agreed I should do so if circumstances warranted.”

He added: “During our one-on-one meeting at Trump Tower, based on President-Elect Trump’s reaction to the briefing and without him directly asking the question, I offered that assurance.”

Donald Trump said he feels 'totally vindicated' by former FBI director James Comey.
AP

Mr Comey also wrote that he told Mr Trump in a February 14 meeting he had briefed congressional leaders about the FBI’s Russia probe. He detailed “exactly which individuals we were investigating”, adding they were not “personally investigating” the president.

“We need to get that fact out,” Mr Trump said, urging him to clear his name, according to Mr Comey’s account.

“He asked what we could do to ‘lift the cloud,’” Mr Comey wrote after a March 30 phone call with Mr Trump.

“I responded that we were investigating the matter as quickly as we could, and that there would be great benefit, if we didn’t find anything, to our having done the work well. He agreed, but then re-emphasised the problems this was causing him.”

Although several senior White House aides have been identified as being under investigation for their links to Moscow, there has never been any suggestion that Mr Trump was personally involved in any compromising collusion with the Russians.

Last night’s statement from the president did not, however, address one of the most controversial issues raised in Mr Comey’s testimony; that Mr Trump asked him to back off in the FBI probe into axed National Security Adviser Mike Flynn, who had resigned the previous day and was under investigation for his foreign connections.

“He is a good guy and has been through a lot,” Mr Trump said, according to Mr Comey. “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” he added.

“I had understood the president to be requesting that we drop any investigation of Flynn,” said Mr Comey.

The president made no comment on other claims made in Mr Comey’s written statement to the panel.

They include an alleged January 6 discussion over a dossier drawn up by a former British intelligence agent that included lurid and unverified claims - including allegations involving Russian prostitutes - that were strongly denied by Mr Trump.

During a January 27 dinner between the two men, Mr Comey wrote that “the president returned to the salacious material I had briefed him about on January 6, and, as he had done previously, expressed his disgust for the allegations and strongly denied them.

“He said he was considering ordering me to investigate the alleged incident to prove it didn’t happen…He said he had nothing to do with Russia, had not been involved with hookers in Russia, and had always assumed he was being recorded when in Russia,” Mr Comey added.

The FBI chief, who was fired by Mr Trump last month, wrote that although the bureau was traditionally regarded as working independently of the administration, the president told him, “I need loyalty. I expect loyalty.”

Mr Comey’s appearance in front of the Senate committee comes after senior national security officials refused to answer questions yesterday about whether Mr Trump tried to shut down the Russia probe.

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