When President Trump tweeted this on May 12th, 2017, it sparked James Comey to leak pieces of his written memos regarding his previous interactions with the president himself.
James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017
With the finished testimony highlighting Trump calling for Comey’s “loyalty,” Comey documents his uncomfortable interactions regarding the President’s ideas and behaviors. Comey, also stating that “consistency is key,” hopes that the president’s “tapes” are real.
One of the biggest controversies of the written documents has been Comey and Trump’s relationship with Michael Flynn and of course, Russia. As Comey points out, Trump accordingly said “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.” As Comey writes about his confusion toward the association of Flynn and the entire investigation of Russia, newly released information also depicts Flynn wanting a Pentagon and Russian military initiative.
There’s a lot of controversy with these released documents, especially with Comey stating that documenting previous records (in other meetings with Trump) had never been a habit. Comey even allegedly believed that through the released statements from the Trump administration documenting his firing, there would be a separate Russian investigation. Of course, Trump supporters- especially Marc Kasowitz who is Trump’s outside lawyer- continued to capitalize on the statement that “Donald Trump was not personally investigated in the Russia probe.
“The administration then chose to defame me, and more importantly the FBI.” – James Comey, 8 June 2017
This testimony is all over the place. From Senator McCain attempting to ask about the 2016 investigation into Hillary Clinton to the investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election, supporters of the President (or supporter) have now decided to poke out holes. Kasowitz has now fought back claiming this:
“Consistent with that statement, the president never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone, including suggesting that Mr. Comey ‘let Flynn go,'” Kasowitz said in a statement obtained by Axios. “As he publicly stated the next day, he did say to Mr. Comey, ‘General Flynn is a good guy, he has been through a lot,’ and also ‘asked how is General Flynn doing.” – Marc Kasowitz, 8 June 2017
Many people in the White House are still sticking behind President Trump yet no one in the Senate intelligence committee seemed to do so. People such as spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee have told reporters that “I can definitely say the President is not a liar, and I think it’s, frankly, insulting that question would be asked.”
To be quite honest, this panned out in a potentially different way than the president probably expected. Many Republican members of the Senate seemed to support the former FBI director, as well as garner less support than originally intended for the president. With this in mind, the growing bombshell of James Comey will sure influence the president’s upcoming agenda.
