Trump's Lawyer Strongly Condemns Comey Testimony
By:
President Donald Trump's personal lawyer was swift to condemn former FBI Director James Comey's testimony before congress on Thursday.
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik - apimages.com
Marc Kasowitz, who represents the president, made three main points during the press conference.
1. Kasowitz emphasized that Comey assured the president that he was not personally under investigation.
Trump's lawyer zeroed in on Comey's admission that he told the president he wasn't personally under investigation on three occasions prior to his termination.
"Contrary to numerous false press accounts leading up to today’s hearing, Mr. Comey has now finally confirmed publicly what he repeatedly told the President privately: The President was not under investigation as part of any probe into Russian interference," Kasowitz said.
2. He denied that Trump's conversations with Comey were improper or illegal.
Though he said the president is "entitled to expect loyalty from those who are serving in an administration," Kasowitz denied that Trump told the former FBI director that he "expected loyalty" from him—a request that unsettled Comey.
Kasowitz also said that Trump "never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone, including suggesting that Mr. Comey 'let Flynn go.'" During his testimony, however, Comey said that he interpreted the president's remarks about Michael Flynn "as a direction" to drop the FBI's investigation into the former National Security Advisor.
3. He accused Comey of making "unauthorized disclosures to the press of privileged communications with the President."
"Today, Mr. Comey admitted that he unilaterally and surreptitiously made unauthorized disclosures to the press of privileged communications with the President," Kasowitz said. He was referring to Comey's comments about providing an advisor with memos describing his exchanges with Trump after the president posted a threatening tweet about taped recordings of their conversations.
Kasowitz said Trump legal team will "leave it to the appropriate authorities to determine whether this leaks should be investigated along with all those others being investigated."
