Tag: James Comey

‘I never asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn’: Trump goes on tweetstorm about the FBI

The following article by John Wagner was posted on the Washington Post website December 3, 2017:

Credit: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post

 

President Trump issued a fresh denial Sunday that he asked then-FBI Director James B. Comey to halt an investigation into the conduct of his dismissed national security adviser Michael Flynn.

“I never asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn,” Trump said in a pre-dawn message on Twitter. “Just more Fake News covering another Comey lie!” Continue reading “‘I never asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn’: Trump goes on tweetstorm about the FBI”

Brennan: Trump called us hacks to delegitimize intelligence report

The following article by Mallory Shelbourne was posted on the Hill website November 12, 2017:

Former CIA Director John Brennan said Sunday that President Trump called him a political hack in order to cast doubt on his and other intelligence agencies’ conclusion that Russia sought to influence the 2016 election.

“Well first of all, he was referring to us as political hacks because he was trying to delegitimize the intelligence community assessment that was done,” Brennan told CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Trump on Saturday said Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former FBI Director James Comey are political hacks. Those leaders were in charge in January, when a declassified report from those three agencies was released that said Russia called for an influence campaign aimed at interfering in the United States election. Continue reading “Brennan: Trump called us hacks to delegitimize intelligence report”

Video: James Comey and the draft statement clearing Hillary Clinton

The following article by Meg Kelly and Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website October 30, 2017:

Here’s what we know about former FBI director James B. Comey’s decisions about how to end the Clinton email probe. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

“Wow, FBI confirms report that James Comey drafted letter exonerating Crooked Hillary Clinton long before investigation was complete. Many people not interviewed, including Clinton herself. Comey stated under oath that he didn’t do this-obviously a fix? Where is Justice Dept?”
— President Trump, in tweets, Oct. 18, 2017

In a pair of tweets, President Trump essentially called for a Justice Department investigation of former FBI director James B. Comey, whom he fired in May. He suggested Comey misled Congress under oath about his decision-making on whether to charge former secretary of state Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server for official government communications. Continue reading “Video: James Comey and the draft statement clearing Hillary Clinton”

Bob Mueller has an unreleased Trump letter about firing James B. Comey. Here’s why that’s big.

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website September 1, 2017:

Since President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey on May 9, the explanations for the dismissal have been getting murkier. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

Big Russia investigation news: Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has obtained an early draft of a letter President Trump wrote about his reasons for firing FBI Director James B. Comey. The news was first reported by the New York Times.

But, you might wonder, isn’t it already pretty clear why Trump fired Comey? He went on NBC News and blurted out it was because of the Russia investigation! He said the Justice Department’s recommendations were a ruse! Continue reading “Bob Mueller has an unreleased Trump letter about firing James B. Comey. Here’s why that’s big.”

Trump’s son seems to confirm Comey’s account of the president’s comments on the Flynn investigation

The following article by Jenna Johnson was posted on the Washington Post website June 11, 2017:

Donald Trump Jr., executive vice president of the Trump Organization, announces that the company is launching a new hotel chain June 5 in New York. (Kathy Willens/AP)

Soon after former FBI director James B. Comey testified that President Trump told him that he “hoped” the FBI would drop its investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, the president’s personal lawyer flatly denied that accusation and said Trump “never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone.”

But Donald Trump Jr. — the president’s eldest son — seemed to confirm Comey’s version of events in a Saturday interview on Fox News as he tried to emphasize the fact that his father did not directly order Comey to stop investigating Flynn. Continue reading “Trump’s son seems to confirm Comey’s account of the president’s comments on the Flynn investigation”

cs D.C. and Maryland sue President Trump, alleging breach of constitutional oath

The following article by Aaron C. Davis was posted on the Washington Post website June 12, 2017:

Attorneys general for D.C. and Maryland filed a lawsuit against President Trump on June 12, alleging that he violated anti-corruption clauses in the Constitution by retaining ownership of his company as president. (Video: Amber Ferguson,Jenny Starrs/Photo: Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post)

Attorneys general for the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland sued President Trump on Monday, alleging that he has violated anti-corruption clauses in the Constitution by accepting millions in payments and benefits from foreign governments since moving into the White House.

The lawsuit, the first of its kind brought by government entities, centers on the fact that Trump chose to retain ownership of his company when he became president. Trump said in January that he was shifting his business assets into a trust managed by his sons to eliminate potential conflicts of interests. Continue reading “cs D.C. and Maryland sue President Trump, alleging breach of constitutional oath”

For Trump, the ‘Cloud’ Just Grew That Much Darker

The following article by Peter Baker was posted on the New York Times website June 8, 2017:

WASHINGTON — Upset about the investigation into Russian interference in last year’s election, President Trump sought relief from James B. Comey, then the F.B.I. director. By Mr. Comey’s account, Mr. Trump asked him to help “lift the cloud.”

But thanks to Mr. Trump’s own actions, the cloud darkened considerably on Thursday and now seems likely to hover over his presidency for months, if not years, to come. Continue reading “For Trump, the ‘Cloud’ Just Grew That Much Darker”

Did Trump just acknowledge (in a tweet, of course) that he told Comey to back off Michael Flynn?

The following article by Amber Phillips was posted on the Washington Post website June 9, 2017:

Update: President Trump gave the same maybe-I-did, maybe-I-didn’t statement in a press conference Friday. When asked by ABC’s Jonathan Karl whether he told Comey to back off the Flynn investigation, Trump said: “I didn’t say that. I will tell you I didn’t say that. And there’d be nothing wrong if I did say that, according to everything I read today.” The original post about why this doesn’t make sense follows. 

The president is tweeting, and perhaps tweeting himself into more trouble, about James B. Comey, the FBI director he fired in May.

In his second tweet before lunchtime Friday, President Trump potentially undermined his private lawyer’s statements denying key parts of Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee the day before.

Here’s the tweet: Continue reading “Did Trump just acknowledge (in a tweet, of course) that he told Comey to back off Michael Flynn?”

There’s no indication Comey violated the law. Trump may be about to.

The following article by Philip Bump was posted n the Washington Post website June 9, 2017:

Former FBI director James B. Comey testified he used a third party to share the details of his private meetings with President Trump. When Sen. Blunt (R-Mo.) asked Comey why he didn’t share the memos himself, Comey said he worried the media was camping at the end of his driveway and he thought it would “be like feeding seagulls at the beach.” (Photo: Matt McClain / The Washington Post/Reuters)

This article has been updated.

President Trump’s declaration that the Thursday testimony of former FBI director James B. Comey was a “total and complete vindication” despite “so many false statements and lies” was the sort of brashly triumphant and loosely-grounded-in-reality statement we’ve come to expect from the commander in chief. It was news that came out a bit later, news about plans to file a complaint against Comey for a revelation he made during that Senate Intelligence Committee hearing meeting, that may end up being more damaging to the president. Continue reading “There’s no indication Comey violated the law. Trump may be about to.”