Trump flatly denies Comey accusations, willing to respond under oath

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United States President Donald Trump called Mr James Comey a "leaker" on Friday (June 9), the day after his former FBI director accused him in congressional testimony of trying to quash an investigation and lying.

Former FBI Director James Comey said Thursday that he kept records of his talks with President Donald Trump because he thought the president might "lie".

Comey testified Thursday that Trump told him "I need loyalty, I expect loyalty" during a White House dinner, before saying that Flynn is a "good guy" and that Comey should "let this go".

In the course of the testimony, Comey proved Trump was right in one instance, when the former Federal Bureau of Investigation chief accepted he had been the person leaking the information, as the President had accused him of doing.

Comey said that a tweet from Trump threatening him with possible "tapes" about their conversations pushed him to have the contents of his memo released, saying he hoped it would force the appointment of a special counsel for the Russian Federation probe.

According to the report, the complaint will focus on Comey's testimony that he shared memos about his conversations with Trump with a friend, whom he also asked to pass the information to a reporter.

"I hardly know the man", Trump said on Friday.

"I would be glad to tell him exactly what I just told you", Trump told a reporter.

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"There were things Comey said in his testimony that were not true".

Trump continued to be coy about the possibility of there being recordings of his conversations with Comey, which he has suggested previously.

"The context and the president's words are what led me" to conclude that Trump wanted the Flynn probe ended, Comey said. "Mr Comey has now admitted that he is one of these leakers".

Mr Comey's damning testimony included allegations that the president did not care for the FBI's independence.

The leaks referred to, which the president's personal lawyer is aiming to have investigated, are the release of memos made by Comey that documented his unusually frequent conversations with the president.

In his testimony on Thursday, Comey had said he had been aware of Russian cyber intrusion in the USA from the summer of 2015.

Trump has remained relatively media shy since the Justice Department tapped former FBI Director Robert Mueller to be the special counsel looking into Russia's meddling into the 2016 election and the Trump campaign's possible ties to it.

Legal experts questioned whether Mr Trump's private encounters with Comey could be considered privileged.

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