FBI's Comey: Trump sacked me because of Russia investigation
Former FBI director James Comey has testified in front of a Senate intelligence committee hearing, in which he stated his belief that he was fired due to the ongoing investigation into the Trump campaign links with Russia.
In a series of damning criticisms of the current President Donald Trump and his administration, Comey said that comments made about him and the FBI in the aftermath of his removal were “lies, plain and simple”.
Comey also revealed that he took the decision to record his conversations with Trump in a series of memos, due to the content of the conversations and “the nature of the person.”
In addition to the public hearing, Comey will also be present at a private sitting of the committee in order to go into more detail about the comments made in the earlier session.
“I take the president at his word that I was fired because of the Russia investigation,” Comey told the committee. “Something about the way I was conducting it, the president felt, created pressure on him he wanted to relieve.”
'LIES, PLAIN AND SIMPLE'
In a passionate defence of the organisation he used to head, Comey said that comments made by those in the White House were false, adding that they “chose to defame me and, more importantly, the FBI” by claiming that the agency was in a state of “disarray”.
“Those were lies, plain and simple, and I’m so sorry that the FBI workforce had to hear them, and I’m so sorry the American people were told them.”
Comey will also be present at a private sitting of the committee
The former director of the FBI warned of a significant increase in the efforts from Russian authorities to interfere with US politics, and was unequivocal about their role in last year’s election.
"There should be no fuzz in this whatsoever. The Russians interfered in the election.”
Key to the ongoing investigations is former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who was forced to resign just weeks after his appointment, with Comey claiming he kept memos of a conversation in which Trump suggested that he drop the investigation into him.
Indeed, he told Senators he had felt directed to end his probe into Flynn.
However, Comey stopped short of saying Trump had acted in a manner which obstructed the investigation, adding that his interpretation of Trump's remarks "could be wrong".
“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, but that’s a conclusion I’m sure the Special Counsel will work towards, to try and understand what the intention was there and whether that is an offence.”