Shocking revelations from former FBI director

James Comey, the FBI director who was fired by Trump, admitted that the president told him, “I need loyalty. I expect loyalty.”

Former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Mr. James Comey - Photo: Reuters

According to Reuters, in a handwritten note posted online on June 7, former FBI director James Comey said President Donald Trump had asked him to drop the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, telling Comey: “I need loyalty. I expect loyalty.”

According to plan, on June 8, US time, Mr. Comey will testify directly before the US Senate Intelligence Committee, and a copy of Mr. Comey's expected presentation report has been posted on the Senate Intelligence Committee's website.

Accordingly, the first part of his report will be devoted to recounting a dinner between him and Mr. Trump on January 27, one week after Mr. Trump was sworn in.

Mr. Comey recalled that at that dinner, Mr. Trump asked him if he wanted to continue as FBI director. Mr. Comey said he felt concerned that Mr. Trump seemed to want to create “some kind of patronizing relationship.”

In the report, Mr. Comey added: "That concerns me greatly, given the FBI's long-standing independence from the executive branch."

After that conversation, Mr. Trump raised the issue of the Russia investigation with Mr. Comey several times in ways that were designed to pressure him to back down.

Specifically, according to Mr. Comey's report, on February 14, after a meeting to discuss counter-terrorism in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump asked everyone to leave, leaving only him to talk with Mr. Comey.

At that time, according to Mr. Comey, Mr. Trump asked the FBI director to "drop" all investigations into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who was forced to resign the day before for lying to US President Mike Pence about the contents of his discussions with the Russian ambassador.

At the time, Mr. Comey felt the president was only asking to drop the investigation into Mr. Flynn related to his December phone call with the Russian ambassador, not “the broader investigation into Russia or possible ties to his campaign.”

But in a subsequent phone call with Mr. Trump on March 30, the president complained to Mr. Comey that the investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia was harming his ability to run the country, and asked “what can we do?”

Mr. Comey's statement confirms President Trump's claim that Mr. Comey had confirmed to him on three separate occasions that he was not a target of the FBI's counterintelligence investigation.

Although much of the report's contents have been made public by the media over the years, since Mr. Comey was fired in May.

However, it still gives the public a more comprehensive picture of the interactions between President Donald Trump and one of the highest executive officials in the US on particularly sensitive issues related to himself.

According to tuoitre.vn