Trump Warns Comey Over Leaks to Media
Jum'at, 12 Mei 2017 - 21:10 WIB
Trump Warns Comey Over Leaks to Media
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WASHINGTON DC - US President, Donald Trump has warned fired FBI chief James Comey against leaking material to the media.
In a tweet on Friday, he said Comey had "better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations".
Comey, who had been leading an inquiry into possible collusion between Trump election campaign officials and Russia, was fired on Tuesday.
READ MORE: FBI Chief Fired by Trump
Trump has since insisted he was told by Comey that he was not under investigation. Trump said he had been told twice by Comey over dinner and once over the phone that he was not a target of the inquiry.
"I said: 'If it's possible, would you let me know: am I under investigation? You are not under investigation," the president said.
Trump said this week he alone was responsible for the decision to sack Comey, calling him a "showboat" and "grandstander".
This explanation appeared to undermine earlier comments from administration officials that Comey had been fired on the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his deputy Rod Rosenstein.
The first line of Trump's letter sacking Comey refers to a memo written by Rosenstein and says: "I have accepted their recommendation".
In another of his Friday tweets, Trump addressed the differences, saying: "As a very active President with lots of things happening, it is not possible for my surrogates to stand at podium with perfect accuracy!"
"Maybe the best thing to do would be to cancel all future "press briefings" and hand out written responses for the sake of accuracy???" he added.
Trump has dismissed the FBI investigation as a "charade" and has said Democrats are using "fake news" about collusion with the Russians as an excuse for losing the election.
Trump's reference to "tapes" has done nothing to silence the echoes of the Watergate affair that have resounded around the Russian interference inquiry.
In 1973, President Richard Nixon sacked Archibald Cox, the Watergate special prosecutor who was seeking access to tapes of presidential conversations that ultimately led to Nixon's resignation.
In a tweet on Friday, he said Comey had "better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations".
Comey, who had been leading an inquiry into possible collusion between Trump election campaign officials and Russia, was fired on Tuesday.
READ MORE: FBI Chief Fired by Trump
Trump has since insisted he was told by Comey that he was not under investigation. Trump said he had been told twice by Comey over dinner and once over the phone that he was not a target of the inquiry.
"I said: 'If it's possible, would you let me know: am I under investigation? You are not under investigation," the president said.
Trump said this week he alone was responsible for the decision to sack Comey, calling him a "showboat" and "grandstander".
This explanation appeared to undermine earlier comments from administration officials that Comey had been fired on the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his deputy Rod Rosenstein.
The first line of Trump's letter sacking Comey refers to a memo written by Rosenstein and says: "I have accepted their recommendation".
In another of his Friday tweets, Trump addressed the differences, saying: "As a very active President with lots of things happening, it is not possible for my surrogates to stand at podium with perfect accuracy!"
"Maybe the best thing to do would be to cancel all future "press briefings" and hand out written responses for the sake of accuracy???" he added.
Trump has dismissed the FBI investigation as a "charade" and has said Democrats are using "fake news" about collusion with the Russians as an excuse for losing the election.
Trump's reference to "tapes" has done nothing to silence the echoes of the Watergate affair that have resounded around the Russian interference inquiry.
In 1973, President Richard Nixon sacked Archibald Cox, the Watergate special prosecutor who was seeking access to tapes of presidential conversations that ultimately led to Nixon's resignation.
(rnz)
