Former FBI chief Comey lashes out at Trump, Republicans

WASHINGTON - Former FBI director James Comey lashed out at Donald Trump on Monday for telling "lies" and undermining the rule of law, and urged Republicans to stand up to the president.

"The FBI's reputation has taken a big hit because the president of the United States, with his acolytes, has lied about it constantly. In the face of those lies, a whole lot of good people... believe that nonsense," Comey told reporters in the halls of the US Senate.

"People who know better, including Republican members of this body, have to have the courage to stand up and speak the truth."

Comey spoke after a spurt of anti-FBI tweets from the president over the past week alleged that the investigative body abused its powers in probing his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen and his former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Cohen and Flynn have both been convicted for various crimes and have both offered evidence potentially damaging to their former boss.

With Cohen, Trump tweeted on Sunday: "The FBI did something which was absolutely unthinkable & unheard of until the Witch Hunt was illegally started. They BROKE INTO AN ATTORNEY'S OFFICE!"

In fact the FBI had a court order to search Cohen's office.

As for Flynn, Trump alleged that he had been tricked into lying in a January 2016 interview with the FBI that led to his arrest.

"So General Michael Flynn's life can be totally destroyed while Shadey James Comey can Leak and Lie," Trump tweeted earlier this month.

Comey said that politicians, and especially Republicans, have to stop remaining quiet when Trump makes false statements.

"Republicans used to understand that the actions of a president matter, the words of a president matter, the rule of law matters, and the truth matters. Where are those Republicans today?"

"At some point, someone has to stand up and in the face of fear of Fox News, fear of their base, fear of mean tweets, stand up for the values of this country, and not slink away into retirement, but stand up and speak the truth."

Comey spoke after his second closed-door testimony in a week during which he was quizzed on his oversight of an investigation into the mishandling of sensitive emails by Trump's 2016 rival Hillary Clinton during the election.

While the Justice Department has closed the issue after an internal review, Trump and Republicans seeking to protect him from the Russia collusion investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller want the Clinton probe reopened.

Trump fired Comey in May 2017 after the latter refused to swear his allegiance and roll back the nascent investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. 

Mueller is now believed to be investigating whether that firing and other actions amount to obstruction of justice by the president.

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Trump 'morally unfit' for office, fired FBI chief Comey says

Fired former FBI chief James Comey lashed out at Donald Trump in an interview with ABC broadcast Sunday, calling him "morally unfit" to be president and describing him as a serial liar who will "stain everyone around him."

Comey's remarks are the latest salvo in a war of words with Trump, who excoriated the former FBI director on Twitter earlier in the day, again calling him a "slimeball" and suggesting he should be jailed.

The wide-ranging interview with ABC News also came ahead of Tuesday's release of Comey's memoir, "A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership," in which he details his interactions with the Republican president.

"I think he's morally unfit to be president," Comey said, in his first televised interview since being fired in May last year.

The former federal prosecutor pointed to how Trump "talks about and treats women like they're pieces of meat" and "lies constantly about matters big and small and insists the American people believe it."

"Values matter," Comey said. "This president does not reflect the values of this country."

Comey also said that serving in Trump's administration poses a serious ethical dilemma.

"The challenge of this president is that he will stain everyone around him," he told ABC, which aired an edited version of the interview but published a full transcript.

"And the question is, how much stain is too much stain and how much stain eventually makes you unable to accomplish your goal of protecting the country and serving the country?"

COMPROMISING MATERIAL? 

But while Comey sharply criticized Trump, he said he hopes the president is not impeached.

"I hope not because I think impeaching and removing Donald Trump from office would let the American people off the hook and have something happen indirectly that I believe they're duty bound to do directly."

In his book, Comey likens Trump to a dishonest, ego-driven mob boss and says he demanded the then FBI chief's personal pledge of loyalty -- a damning account that has infuriated the president at a moment of intensifying legal pressure on other fronts.

"I never asked Comey for Personal Loyalty. I hardly even knew this guy. Just another of his many lies. His 'memos' are self serving and FAKE!" Trump said in one of a series of tweets fired off Sunday before the interview.

The president said Comey "stupidly" handled a probe into Trump's 2016 election rival Hillary Clinton and how she used a private email server during her time as secretary of state.

In another tweet, Trump offered a mini-review of Comey's memoir.

"The big questions in Comey's badly reviewed book aren't answered like, how come he gave up Classified Information (jail), why did he lie to Congress (jail), why did the DNC refuse to give Server to the FBI (why didn't they TAKE it), why the phony memos, McCabe's $700,000 & more?"

The jumble of references appeared to allude to unsubstantiated accusations Trump has previously made claiming Comey lied in Senate testimony last May in denying he had served as an anonymous news source.

"Look, it's been very clear that James Comey is a self-admitted leaker. He lied to Congress," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Sunday on ABC's "This Week."

In the interview, Comey said he was unsure whether or not the Russians have compromising material that could be used to blackmail Trump -- either relating to his pre-election personal conduct, or his campaign's actions.

"I think it's possible. I don't know. These are more words I never thought I'd utter about a president of the United States, but it's possible," he said.

POSSIBLE OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE

And Comey said the president may have obstructed justice when he asked him to drop an investigation into former national security advisor Michael Flynn.

"Possibly. I mean, it's certainly some evidence of obstruction of justice," he said. "It would depend upon other things that reflected on his intent."

Trump and his aides have countered Comey's media blitz by attacking his handling of the probe into Clinton's emails.

Comey acknowledged in the ABC interview that his belief that Clinton would be elected president "was a factor" in his decision to reopen the email probe 11 days before the US election, a development that Clinton blames for her surprise defeat.

"I don't remember spelling it out, but it had to have been, that she's going to be elected president and if I hide this from the American people, she'll be illegitimate the moment she's elected, the moment this comes out," Comey said.

Trump attacked him on Twitter.

"Unbelievably, James Comey states that Polls, where Crooked Hillary was leading, were a factor in the handling (stupidly) of the Clinton Email probe," Trump said.

"In other words, he was making decisions based on the fact that he thought she was going to win, and he wanted a job. Slimeball!" he wrote.

bur-wd/ceb

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US probe looking at Kushner foreign business contacts: report

WASHINGTON - Special counsel Robert Mueller is probing Jared Kushner's efforts to get foreign investors beyond Russia to provide financing for his company during the presidential transition, including in China, CNN reported Monday.

The probe was previously only said to have focused on the Russia contacts of President Donald Trump's senior adviser and son in law, only with the campaign's data analytics and Kushner's ties with disgraced ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Mueller's team is probing Kushner's conversations during the presidential transition to get financing for the Kushner Companies-backed 666 Fifth Avenue office building in New York after financial setbacks, CNN said, citing people familiar with the investigation.

Kushner's father founded the real estate developer and lender.

CNN said Mueller's investigators have yet to contact Kushner Companies or request interviews with its executives, and the reasons behind the focus on the outreach to foreign investors are unclear.

Kushner played a leading role in the presidential transition team's contacts with foreign governments, and has indicated he spoke during that time with more than 50 contacts from over 15 countries.

One week after Trump's November 8, 2016 election, Kushner met with the chairman and other executives from the Chinese group Anbang Insurance, The New York Times has reported.

Kushner and Anbang chairman Wu Xiaohui were close to finishing a deal for the Chinese conglomerate to invest in 666 Fifth Avenue.

But the talks broke down, the Times said.

Other business dealings targeted by Mueller include negotiations on the same property with Qatar's former prime minister Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, according to The Intercept. But that deal also failed.

Kushner purchased the building in 2007 for $1.8 billion in a mostly debt deal, but the housing crisis triggered financial setbacks for 666 Fifth Avenue, leading Vornado Realty Trust to take a 49.5 percent stake in 2011.

"In all of Mr Kushner's extensive cooperation with all inquiries, there has not been a single question asked nor document sought on the 666 building or Kushner Co. deals," Kushner attorney Abbe Lowell told CNN.

"Nor would there be any reason to question these regular business transactions."

Kushner also met Sergey Gorkov, chairman of Russian state-run Vnesheconombank, during the transition, but he testified in Congress that the meeting was only for official government purposes. 

However, the bank has said the talks were part of a series of business meetings. And The Washington Post has reported that Mueller is probing that meeting as well.

oh/mdl

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Flynn prepared to testify Trump directed him to contact Russians: report

WASHINGTON  - Former U.S. national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the FBI about Russia, and ABC News said he was prepared to testify that before taking office President Donald Trump had directed him to make contact with Russians.

Reuters could not immediately verify the ABC report, which cited a Flynn confidant. The news sent U.S. stocks sharply lower.

Flynn, a former top Trump campaign aide and a central figure in a federal investigation into Moscow's alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, pleaded guilty under a plea deal on Friday to lying to the FBI.

His decision to cooperate with the investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, marked a major escalation in a probe that has dogged Trump's administration since the Republican president took office in January.

ABC News cited a confidant as saying Flynn was ready to testify that Trump directed him to make contact with Russians, initially as a way to work together to fight the Islamic State group in Syria.

It was not clear when Trump supposedly told Flynn to contact Russians and whether there would be anything illegal in requesting such contact.

Flynn pleaded guilty to making false statements about contacts he had in December with Russia's ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak, during the transition period after Trump was elected and before he was sworn in. The charges carry a sentence of up to five years in prison.


The White House said Flynn's guilty plea implicated him alone.

"Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn," Ty Cobb, a White House attorney, said in a statement on Friday.

Flynn was forced out of his White House post in February for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with the ambassador.

"The false statements involved mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in his resignation in February of this year," Cobb said, adding that the plea "clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion" of Mueller's probe.

Moscow has denied a conclusion by U.S. intelligence agencies that it meddled in the election campaign to try to sway the vote in Trump's favor. Trump has denied any collusion by his campaign and has called Mueller's probe a witch hunt.

Flynn said on Friday his decision to plead guilty and to cooperate with the investigation was "made in the best interests of my family and of our country."

In a statement issued by the law firm representing him, Flynn also said it was "painful to endure" the "false accusations of 'treason' and other outrageous acts" over the past several months but that he recognized "that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong."

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Ex-US Attorney Bharara tells of 'unusual' calls he received from Trump

WASHINGTON - Former US Attorney Preet Bharara revealed on Sunday that he received a handful of "unusual" phone calls from Donald Trump after the November election that made him feel uncomfortable, and said he was fired after declining to take the third call.

Speaking on ABC News' "This Week" in his first televised interview since Trump fired him in March as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, Bharara said he believed Trump's calls to him violated the usual boundaries between the executive branch and independent criminal investigators.


"It's a very weird and peculiar thing for a one-on-one conversation without the attorney general, without warning between the president and me or any United States attorney who has been asked to investigate various things and is in a position hypothetically to investigate business interests and associates of the president," Bharara said.

He added that during President Barack Obama's tenure, Obama never called him directly.

Bharara's comments came just a few days after former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey testified at a congressional panel that Trump had asked him to drop an investigation into former Trump aide Michael Flynn and his alleged ties to Russia.

Comey also said he believed he was subsequently fired in an effort to undermine the investigation into possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Trump has denied allegations of collusion between his campaign and Russia and said he never directed Comey to drop the Flynn probe.

A White House spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment.

Bharara said on Sunday that Trump called him twice after the November election "ostensibly just to shoot the breeze."

"It was a little bit uncomfortable, but he was not the president. He was only the president-elect," Bharara said.

The third call, however, came two days after Trump's inauguration. That time, he said, he refused to call back.

"The call came in. I got a message. We deliberated over it, thought it was inappropriate to return the call. And 22 hours later I was asked to resign along with 45 other people," he said.

Bharara stopped short of saying whether he thought Trump had obstructed justice in his conversations and subsequent firing of Comey.

However, he said he thought there was "absolutely evidence to begin a case" into the matter.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Richard Chang)

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Trump national security adviser Flynn resigns

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, resigned on Monday night in the midst of a raging controversy about his contacts with Russian officials before Trump took office, a White House official said.

Retired General Keith Kellogg, who has been the chief of staff at the National Security Council, has been named acting national security adviser.

The Justice Department earlier warned the White House weeks ago that Flynn could be vulnerable to blackmail for contacts with Russian officials before President Donald Trump took power.

The U.S. official confirmed a Washington Post report that Sally Yates, the then-acting U.S. attorney general, told the White House late last month that she believed Flynn had misled them about the nature of his communications with the Russian ambassador to the United States.

She said Flynn might have put himself into a compromising position, possibly leaving himself vulnerable to blackmail, the official said. Yates was later fired for opposing Trump's temporary entry ban for people from seven mostly Muslim nations.

Flynn had told Pence he had not discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with Russian officials in the weeks before Trump took office on Jan. 20, prompting Pence to defend him in subsequent television interviews.

In recent days, Flynn has acknowledged he might have discussed sanctions with the Russians but could not remember with 100 percent certainty, which officials said had upset Pence, who felt he had been misled.

Officials said Flynn apologized to Pence twice, including in person on Friday.

Flynn, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general, was an early supporter of Trump and shares his interest in shaking up the establishment in Washington. He has frequently raised eyebrows among Washington's foreign policy establishment for trying to persuade Trump to warm up U.S. relations with Russia.

Top White House officials have been reviewing Flynn's contacts with the Russians and whether he discussed the possibility of lifting U.S. sanctions on Russia once Trump took office.

That would potentially be in violation of a law banning private citizens from engaging in foreign policy, known as the Logan Act.

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Trump security adviser drops out amid plagiarism claims

WASHINGTON - The conservative author and pundit chosen by Donald Trump for a top communications post on the National Security Council has decided not to accept the position amid allegations that she plagiarized key passages in a best-selling book.

"After much reflection, I have decided to remain in New York to pursue other opportunities and will not be taking a position in the incoming administration," Monica Crowley, a former Fox News commentator, told the conservative Washington Times, where she previously was an online opinion editor.

Crowley -- who had been tapped to serve as senior director of strategic communications for the NSC -- made no mention of the plagiarism allegations.

Trump's future national security adviser, Michael Flynn, confirmed Crowley's withdrawal, adding, "We wish her all the best."

Crowley, who holds a doctorate in international relations, had been named on December 15 to the NSC post, in which she would have helped shape the Trump administration's messaging on diplomatic and security issues.

But she also would have helped write speeches -- making the plagiarism charges more sensitive.

CNN reported on January 7 that dozens of passages in Crowley's book "What the (Bleep) Just Happened?" had been closely copied from other sources. Publisher HarperCollins subsequently withdrew the book.

The Trump transition team had at first defended Crowley as the victim of "a political attack," without confirming or denying the allegations.

Then Politico found other copied passages in her doctoral thesis on US-Chinese relations, completed in 2000 while she was at Columbia University.

In late December, another Trump appointee, Jason Miller, withdrew his name as White House communications director.

He said he wanted to spend more time with his family, though his withdrawal came after tweets from another Trump adviser suggesting Miller had had an extramarital affair.

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Russia says 'no comment' on Trump team contacts

MOSCOW - Russia's deputy foreign minister on Saturday declined to comment on reported calls between president-elect Donald Trump's incoming national security advisor and Moscow's ambassador to Washington.

Asked to comment on the reported calls, deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told RIA Novosti news agency that "we don't comment on daily working contacts of our embassy or foreign ministry representatives with colleagues from other countries, including the United States."

The Washington Post reported that Flynn telephoned Moscow's ambassador to Washington Sergei Kislyak, several times on December 28.

It said Kislyak extended an invitation for the incoming administration to attend peace talks on Syria to be hosted by Russia and Turkey in Kazakhstan, which are planned for January 23, three days after Trump's inauguration.

Trump's incoming press secretary, Sean Spicer, said the pair spoke by phone on December 28 about "the logistics of setting up a call with the president of Russia and the president-elect after he was sworn in, and they exchanged logistical information on how to initiate and schedule that call."

He added: "That was it. Plain and simple."

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Friday that invitations to attend the peace talks in Astana were likely to be sent out next week, with both Turkey and Russia agreeing that the United States should be involved.

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