| Hey, we just heard him. And this was crazy. But here's the main points - from Comey, maybe. |
| Yes, that's a Carly Rae Jepsen reference. Yes, we have an all-Comey edition of OnPolitics Today below, no maybe about it. Lordy, let's get to it. |
| It's OnPolitics Today, USA TODAY's daily politics roundup. Subscribe here. |
| Comey: Trump lied, 'plain and simple' |
| James Comey's must-watch Senate testimony on Thursday covered a lot of ground, but one thread ran throughout: The former FBI director believed President Trump couldn't be trusted. |
| "It was the nature of the person," Comey said. "I was honestly concerned that he would lie about the nature of our meeting." |
| Among the top takeaways from Comey's two-hour plus testimony on Trump and Russia: Comey said he thinks Trump fired him to ease pressure from the Russia investigation, and that the president "hoped" Comey could drop a Russia-related inquiry into his ex-adviser, Michael Flynn. |
| And Trump's shifting explanations for Comey's firing "were lies, plain and simple," Comey said. |
| So was that obstruction of justice? "Hoping" isn't obstructing, Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, pointed out. Comey disagreed, but said he'd leave that to investigators. |
| Oh, and the report about Comey's memos that made it into the press? Comey leaked that, he said, after Trump tweeted about possible "tapes" of their conversation. |
| "Lordy, I hope there are tapes," Comey said. So do we, along with all of the Internet. |
| Also Comey: No proof that Russia altered votes |
| Comey did make some key points for Trump. The chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., cornered Comey on whether Russia's efforts directly altered votes in last year's election. Comey never saw any hint of that, he said. |
| Comey also admitted that Trump never explicitly asked him to drop the investigation on Flynn. Trump merely said he hoped Comey could "let this go," he said. Still, Comey said it reminded him of Thomas Becket, the 12th century priest who was assassinated after a king wondered aloud, "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" |
| How Republicans reacted: Look, Trump's new at this |
| Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters that Comey's account revealed Trump is simply "new at government" and not likely "steeped" in the proper protocols of separation between the White House and the FBI. |
| "He's learning as he goes," Ryan said. |
| Trump's lawyer came out swinging, accusing Comey of devising "unauthorized" news leaks to besmirch Trump's good name. Marc Kasowitz said the testimony made "clear that the president never sought to impede the investigation" into Russia's possible election tampering. |
| White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she has "no idea" if tapes exist of conversations between Comey and Trump, stressing that "the president is not a liar." |
| Strangely silent amid Comey's testimony? Trump himself. He gave a speech to a group of religious conservatives on Thursday. |
| "We're under siege," Trump told them. "You understand that," |
| A veritable feast of Comey coverage: |
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment