Trump calls James Comey a "LEAKER & LIAR" who "should be prosecuted"
President Trump took to Twitter Friday morning to respond to fired FBI Director James Comey's upcoming book, calling Comey a "LEAKER & LIAR" and a "slime ball" who "should be prosecuted."
Comey's new book, "A Higher Loyalty," isn't officially released until Tuesday, but numerous news outlets, including CBS News, have obtained copies of the book ahead of time. In it, Comey describes Mr. Trump as "untethered to truth," detailing the few months he was FBI director with Mr. Trump as president. Comey has claimed Mr. Trump asked for his loyalty, and to drop a matter involving former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who misled Vice President Mike Pence and federal investigators about his contacts with Russian officials.
Mr. Trump fired Comey in May, eventually prompting Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to appoint special counsel Robert Mueller to lead the investigation into Russian election meddling and any ties to the Trump campaign.
On Friday, Mr. Trump claimed that "virtually everyone in Washington" thought Comey "should be fired for the terrible job he did — until he was, in fact fired. He leaked CLASSIFIED information, for which he should be prosecuted."
The president also claimed Comey "lied under oath."
In a follow-up tweet, Mr. Trump called Comey a "slime ball."
James Comey is a proven LEAKER & LIAR. Virtually everyone in Washington thought he should be fired for the terrible job he did-until he was, in fact, fired. He leaked CLASSIFIED information, for which he should be prosecuted. He lied to Congress under OATH. He is a weak and.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2018
....untruthful slime ball who was, as time has proven, a terrible Director of the FBI. His handling of the Crooked Hillary Clinton case, and the events surrounding it, will go down as one of the worst “botch jobs” of history. It was my great honor to fire James Comey!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2018
ABC News has an interview with Comey that is set to air Sunday night.
Kellyanne Conway, senior adviser to the president, also responded to Comey's book moments before Mr. Trump tweeted, in a gaggle with reporters at the White House.
Conway said Comey took "unnecessary, immature pot shots" at Mr. Trump's appearance in the book, likely a reference to Comey writing that Mr. Trump's hands were smaller than his, but not smaller than normal, and that Mr. Trump was shorter in person than he thought he would be.