President Donald Trump said fired FBI Director James Comey lied in his Senate testimony and that he would be willing to testify under oath that he didn't demand a pledge of personal loyalty from Comey. Comey, fired by Trump last month as Federal Bureau of Investigation head, gave the account in sworn testimony to a Senate panel on Thursday.
As part of their broader effort to discredit Comey, Trump and his defenders have seized on a portion of Comey's Thursday testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee in which he said he allowed a friend to share with the press contents of a memo detailing his conversation with Trump in the hope that it would trigger the appointment of a special prosecutor. He said he did this because felt the investigation may have reached a point at which a special counsel needed to be appointed.
"Lordy, I hope there are tapes", Comey said during his testimony Thursday.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I'm not hinting anything.
Legal experts questioned whether Mr Trump's private encounters with Comey could be considered privileged.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, asked Comey if he believes Hillary Clinton would've fired him if she was president. "So that's what I am focused on; that's what I have been focused on", Trump said, veering to his Electoral College victory before coming back to Comey.
The US president was asked by a journalist if he would be willing to give his version of events under oath.
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The admission comes amid calls for Conservatives leader Theresa May to resign , both within her party and among voters. The following year, in a general election, it gave the pro-independence Scottish National Party a landslide victory.
Comey, who was sacked by Trump last month, said he did so in hopes that the memos, which documented what the former director felt was inappropriate contact by the president amid the ongoing investigation, would prompt the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel to take over the probe.
Earlier Friday, Trump tweeted that Comey's testimony was a "total and complete vindication" for him "despite so many false statements and lies".
The key issue before the committee was whether Mr Trump sought to obstruct the investigation in nine conversations with Mr Comey this year, leading up to his dismissal of the FBI chief.
Trump branded Comey a "leaker" for indirectly providing to reporters the contents of memos he wrote after their private conversations. Comey said he believed he was sacked "because of the Russian Federation investigation", amplifying calls that Trump obstructed justice. You suggested he didn't tell the truth in everything he said. Karl wanted to know whether Trump agreed with Comey's account of their conversation.
"I hardly know the man", Trump said on Friday. And frankly, James Comey confirmed a lot of what I said. Asked if he had taped their conversations, as he implied in a threatening tweet shortly after he fired Comey, Trump said he would reveal that answer soon.
The disclosures that followed Comey's firing have raised questions about why Comey, known in government for an independent streak and a willingness to buck protocol, did not speak out publicly while on the job, or at least make his objections directly known to the president. In a tweet, Trump called Comey a "leaker". They sent a separate request to Trump's White House counsel, Don McGahn, for any record the White House had of their meetings.
Discussing the Oval Office meeting where Comey says Trump asked him to back off Flynn, Feinstein asked: "Why didn't you stop and say, 'Mr".
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