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President Trump began Sunday morning with a series of tweets repressing the testimony of former FBI director James Comey last week during an in camera interrogation before Congress.
"On 245 occasions, former FBI director James Comey told investigators in the House he did not know, did not remember, or could not remember things when asked" Trump tweeted "Investigations opened on 4 Americans (not 2) – did not know who had signed and did not know Christopher Steele. All the lies! "
Steele is the former British MI6 intelligence officer, who provided the United States with a record of links between the Trump campaign and Russia.
During his interrogation, Comey said the FBI A counterintelligence investigation into the potential links between the Trump campaign and Russia initially targeted four Americans and their connection with Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. 19659003] Comey did not identify the Americans, but said that President Trump, then Republican
The committee issued a transcript of the interview Saturday, 24 hours only after having private discussions with the head of the FBI sacked investigative decisions relating to Hillary Clinton's messaging server and Trump's campaign and its possible links with Russia.Comey largely escaped the issues related to the investigation act led by Mueller, including whether Trump's May 2017 shooting was an impediment to justice.
The Republican-led committee questioned Comey as part of his investigation into the FBI's actions in 2016, a year the office – in the heat of the presidential campaign – recommended not to prosecute Clinton and has opened an investigation into the interference of Russia in the elections.
The interrogations focused on areas well covered, according to a report by the Inspector General of the Ministry of Justice, Comey. and interviews and hours of public testimony on Capitol Hill. But the former head of the FBI also took the opportunity to criticize Trump's criminal justice system, saying "we have become insensitive to lies and breaches of the law by the President", as well as that's to Trump's contention that it should be a crime for the subjects to "turn around" and cooperate with the investigators.
"This is a shocking suggestion from any senior official, not least of the president.It is an essential and legitimate element of the entire justice system in the United States." Comey said.
In another tweet on Sunday, Trump accused Comey of lying and said that the investigation on Russia was "a fraud rigged".
"Leakin & # 39; James Comey must have set a record for who lied most to Congress in One Day, his Friday testimony was so misleading! "Trump tweeted." This agreement is a rigged fraud led by dishonest people who would do anything for me so that I can not become president. They are now exposed! "
Multiple Trump Associates, Including His National National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to lying about their relations with the Russians during the campaign and the period The former president of the Trump campaign Paul Manafort, including a partner who, according to the United States, has links with the Russian intelligence services, also attracted the external relations. Attention of the forces of the order
Comey repeated that it was the meeting of George Papadopoulos with the help of a Russian An intermediary in London who opened the Russian investigation, rather than – as claimed by some Republicans – a Democrat-funded opposition study carried out by a former British spy.
"It's only weeks or months later than the Steele record was sent to our attention, "said Comey.
He stated that at the time of his dismissal, the FBI had not yet come to a conclusion as to whether the Trump campaign was coordinated with Russia's efforts to influence the government. election.
And he insisted that the FBI would recover from the president's attacks on the bureau.
"The FBI will be fine, it will come back, like the rest of our institutions," said Comey. "There will be short-term damage, which worries me a lot, but in the long run, no politician, no president, can sustainably damage these institutions."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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