Assessing Donald Trump's self-defense in Comey drama

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Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday that Trump asked him, while he was still Federal Bureau of Investigation director, to "let go" of a probe into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's connection to Russian officials.

Comey said Thursday that he began documenting his conversations with the president because he had a "gut feeling" Trump might lie about the nature of those meetings. "Totally illegal? Very 'cowardly!'"

The House committee also asked Comey to turn over his notes on the Trump conversations.

But there were also stories that suggested while damning in one sense-Comey called the President a liar and said he was convinced Trump was trying to get him to back of the investigation of former NSA director Michael Flynn, there did not appear to be any impeachable offenses. As months passed, however, Comey said he realized he was sacked "in some way to change, or the endeavor was to change, the way the Russian Federation investigation was being conducted". "He's a leaker", Trump said of Comey.

"So if Robert Mueller wanted to speak with you about that-" the reporter said, referring to the Special Counsel Robert Mueller, investigation Russia's interference in the US election.

"I think he's proven himself to be a dishonest man of bad character", Trump said.

Trump also denied asking Comey for a pledge of loyalty during one of a string of private meetings.

During a joint press conference with the president of Romania, Trump was asked about Comey's testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. But he says it's discomfiting for a president to be in private communication with top prosecutors.

Russian Federation collusion claim 'detestable lie': US Attorney General
Sessions argued that in the context of the hearing, "my answer was a fair and correct response to the charge as I understood it". During Comey's hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee , he hinted at Sessions' role in the controversy.

Comey said in his testimony that he took the President's statement to be an inappropriate directive.

This week, during the highly anticipated Senate Intelligence Committee appearance by Comey, he said the USA president lied on several occasions, and he illustrated Trump's knack for self-sabotage.

More than four decades ago, the Senate voted to create a special investigative committee to look into the Watergate break-in, and Archibald Cox, the Watergate special prosecutor, subpoenaed the White House tapes from Nixon. I'll tell you about it over a very short period of time.

Finally, Trump tweeted this: "James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!"

"I would be glad to tell him exactly what I just told you", Trump told a reporter.

He also accused Qatar, a key US military partner, of funding terrorism "at a very high level", and said solving the problem in the tiny Persian Gulf nation could be "the beginning of the end of terrorism".

A person close to the legal team said on Friday Trump's chief personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, expected to file a complaint against Comey early this week to the Justice Department's inspector general's office.

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