BEVERLY HILLS, May 16, (THEWILL) – President Donald Trump has denied the testimony by then-FBI Director James Comey to close down the agency’s investigation into his former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn just one day after Flynn was let go.
A White House official denied The Times’ report about Trump’s conversation with Comey in a statement insisting that Comey’s account was not a truthful or accurate portrayal of the conversation between himself and the President.
“While the President has repeatedly expressed his view that General Flynn is a decent man who served and protected our country, the President has never asked Mr. Comey or anyone else to end any investigation, including any investigation involving General Flynn,” the statement read.
“The President has the utmost respect for our law enforcement agencies, and all investigations.
“This is not a truthful or accurate portrayal of the conversation between the President and Mr. Comey.”
An associate of Comey who is familiar with the matter confirms that the former FBI director memorialized the conversation with Trump in a memo he wrote immediately after their Oval Office conversation on February 14. The news was first reported by the New York Times.
Comey, who was fired one week ago by Trump amid the FBI investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, wrote in the February memo that Trump asked for the investigation of Flynn to go away to which Comey gave a non-response response.
Then he left and wrote detailed notes, according to the source.
“It was an ask” not a command, the source said. A small number of FBI agents were made aware of the memo and the conversation, and agents kept working on the investigation.
