Former FBI director calls Trump a ‘liar’

The world watched as former FBI director James Comey testified under oath in a Senate hearing and accused the Trump administration of defamation.

Comey said the administration claimed that the FBI was poorly led and in “disarray” under his leadership, and that agents had lost confidence in him. 

“Those were lies, plain and simple,” he said. 

“The administration chose to defame me and more importantly the FBI.”

The packed hearing had all of Washington and parts of the US come to a grinding halt as all eyes were glued to the hearing room during Comey’s comments. 

He said he was “confused and increasingly concerned” by Trump’s varied explanations for firing him, including Trump’s remark that he had had Russia on his mind in dismissing Comey four years into a 10-year term.

“He had repeatedly told me I was doing a great job and he hoped I would stay,” Comey told the hearing.

“So it confused me when I saw on television the President told me that he actually fired me because of the Russia investigation.”

Comey explained why he decided he should document every meeting he had with Trump in writing.

“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 didn’t hold back and dove straight into the heart of the fraught political controversy around his firing as he elaborated on written testimony.

He had previously revealed that Trump demanded his “loyalty” in one meeting and directly squeezed him to “lift the cloud” of investigation around the President by declaring publicly that Trump was not the target of the FBI’s probe into his campaign’s Russia ties.

Comey testified in his written testimony that in a strange private encounter near the grandfather clock in the Oval Office, Trump tried to bully him into ending his investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

According to a person “close” to the President’s legal team, Trump is expected to dispute Comey’s claims. 

Committee chairman Richard Burr of North Carolina is leading the committee’s investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election and ties with Mr Trump’s own campaign team.

“We will establish the facts separate from rampant speculation and lay them out for the American people to make their own judgement,” Senator Burr said.

“Only then will we be able to move forward and put this issue to rest.”

Read more: Let’s Talk: Is Donald Trump America’s worst president?

Who do you believe?