Former FBI Director James Comey asserted on Thursday that US President Donald Trump fired him to interfere with his investigation of Russia’s role in the 2016 election and its ties to the Trump campaign.
“It’s my judgement that I was fired because of the Russia investigation,” Comey told the Senate intelligence committee in explosive testimony that threatened to undermine Trump’s presidency.
“I was fired in some way to change, or the endeavor was to change, the way the Russia investigation was being conducted,” Comey testified under oath. He also accused the Trump administration of spreading “lies, plain and simple” about him and the FBI in the aftermath of his abrupt firing last month.
"I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, so I thought it really important to document," Comey said. “I knew there might come a day when I might need a record of what happened not only to defend myself but to protect the FBI.”
If FBI agents had heard Trump request to end former national security adviser Michael Flynn probe, there would be “real risk of a chilling effect”, the former FBI chief told the Senate panel.