FBI前局长指责特朗普“撒谎”
James Comey, the ousted FBI chief, accused the White House of telling lies about him and the agency in gripping testimony to Congress that is likely to undermine President Donald Trump and fuel the investigation into alleged collusion between his team and Russia. Mr Comey’s allegation came at a high-stakes Senate intelligence committee hearing where he repeatedly characterised Mr Trump as untrustworthy, at one point asserting “Lordy, I hope there are tapes” of his conversations with the president to demonstrate the veracity of his testimony. His testimony could prove pivotal to the multiple inquiries into whether members of Mr Trump’s inner circle had improper contacts with Russia during last year’s presidential campaign. For the first time, Mr Comey confirmed that Michael Flynn, a former campaign aide who became Mr Trump’s first national security adviser, was under criminal investigation when the president privately suggested to him that the FBI drop its case against the retired general. Mr Comey said he was “stunned” when Mr Trump made the request during a private Oval Office meeting. “I took it as a direction that this is what he wants me to do,” Mr Comey said. Mr Comey’s understanding of the conversation could prove critical to the Justice Department’s investigation into the Russia case, which is now being headed by special prosecutor Robert Mueller. Mr Comey said that at the time of the meeting, Mr Flynn was “in legal jeopardy”. He also suggested that Mr Mueller was likely ?to examine whether Mr Trump’s remarks were an attempt to obstruct justice. “I don’t think it’s for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct,” he said. “I took it as a very disturbing thing?.?.?.?but that’s a conclusion I’m sure the special counsel will work towards, to try and understand what the intention was?.?.?.?and whether that’s an offence.” Although Mr Comey had detailed the contents of the meetings and phone calls he had with Mr Trump in testimony published Wednesday, he used his opening statement to vent anger at the White House, saying he had become “increasingly concerned” with the changing explanations the Trump administration gave to justify his firing last month. While his account of the private meetings was detailed and dispassionate, he showed unexpected emotion when he addressed Mr Trump’s claim, made after his sacking, that he had mismanaged the FBI and was unpopular within its ranks. “The administration then chose to defame me and, more importantly, the FBI by saying that the organisation was in disarray?.?.?.?that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader,” Mr Comey said. “Those were lies, plain and simple.” Mr Comey confirmed he had told Mr Trump on several occasions that the president was not a target of the FBI investigation. In addition, Mr Comey said he had intentionally leaked his post-meeting notes of his conversations with Mr Trump to a friend with instructions to share them with US media outlets. Mr Comey said he documented his private conversations with Mr Trump — which he had not done with predecessors Barack Obama or George W Bush — because he was concerned the president might mischaracterise their content. “I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting,” he said. |