James Comey says he believes he lost his job as head of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation because of its investigation of Russian involvement in the 2016 elections.
Comey served as the FBI's director until last month. Then President Donald Trump ordered his dismissal.
Comey met with a U.S. Senate committee Thursday. He accused Trump of not being truthful when he said he fired Comey because FBI agents no longer trusted his leadership and that the agency was in
disarray
.
"Those were lies,
plain
and simple."
Comey went
further
then he did in written
testimony
to the Senate Intelligence Committee. Those written statements were released on Wednesday.
In the earlier testimony, the former FBI director said he and the president spoke about Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Comey said Trump told him that he hoped he would drop an investigation into Flynn's possible connections to Russian officials.
Comey remembered the president saying, "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go." He also said that Trump told him during a private White House dinner: "I need loyalty. I expect loyalty."
That was troubling, Comey said, because the FBI is supposed to operate independently of the president.
Separately, Trump's personal lawyer, Mark Kasowitz, denied that the president ever demanded loyalty from Comey.
But he said Comey's testimony confirmed the president "was not under investigation as part of any
probe
into Russian interference" with the 2016 elections.
After testifying for about 2 1/2 hours, Comey met in private with committee members. They said he would be asked about issues related to "
classified
" information that could not be discussed in public.
Is Hope the Same as an Order?
Idaho Senator James Risch is a member of the committee and, like Trump, belongs to the Republican Party. Risch asked Comey if hoping that something would be done is the same as ordering him to take action.
Comey said it is different when the U.S. president makes the request.
"This is a president of the United States with me alone, saying I hope this. I took it as, this is what he wants me to do."
Comey said he was so concerned with one-on-one discussions with the president that he decided to follow up the meetings by writing reports on what was discussed.
"I knew there might come a day when I might need a record of what happened not only to defend myself, but to protect the FBI," he said. Comey said he was "honestly concerned" that the president "might lie about the nature" of their meetings.
Comey said he had given his reports to Robert Mueller, a former FBI director who last month was appointed to lead an independent federal investigation. Mueller is exploring possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russian interference in the U.S. election.
Earlier, Comey had said the Russian interference with the vote was done to hurt the candidacy of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She was the Democratic Party's presidential candidate.
Asking a Friend to Release Information
Comey told the Senate committee about his actions after being fired. He said he asked a friend to give one of his reports about his meetings with Trump to a reporter. Comey said he hoped the information might lead to the appointment of a special
prosecutor
.
