The leakers keep on leaking, and now, we’re hearing more a lot more about Comey’s conversations with Trump. You know, those same discussions that Trump suggested that he taped and held out as a threat against the former FBI director, whose associates revealed that Trump had asked him to pledge “loyalty”? Yep, it’s all part of the same hot mess. And even if Trump really didn’t tape these private talks, they’re gonna leak after his threat, whether or not the president likes the results.
The New York Times reports that a February talk between the two men resulted in Trump pressuring Comey to end the FBI’s investigation of Michael Flynn’s ties with Russia. The information sources from a memo by Comey — who has been rumored to have painstakingly documented all interactions with Trump, so watch out — after the meeting. And a Comey source has now called up the NY Times and read part of the memo aloud:
“I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” Mr. Trump told Mr. Comey, according to the memo. “He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”
Mr. Trump told Mr. Comey that Mr. Flynn had done nothing wrong, according to the memo.
Mr. Comey did not say anything to Mr. Trump about curtailing the investigation, only replying: “I agree he is a good guy.”
Naturally, the White House has denied the veracity of this claim (which, if true, smells like obstruction of justice), but here’s another notable revelation (prior to the Flynn demand) from the same discussion between Comey and the president. Trump, who spilled “highly classified” intelligence about an ISIS plot to Russia last week, believes that reporters should be jailed for publishing the same sort of information:
Alone in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump began the discussion by condemning leaks to the news media, saying that Mr. Comey should consider putting reporters in prison for publishing classified information, according to one of Mr. Comey’s associates. Mr. Trump then turned the discussion to Mr. Flynn.
The date of this conversation was not specified in this report. However, Flynn was booted on February 13, which was eighteen days after Sally Yates warned the White House about his vulnerability to Russian blackmail. Not too long after Flynn’s exit, Trump tweet-trashed the FBI following another New York Times story about how Comey refused to bury stories about Russia. Soon, Trump will likely speak on this report as well. Fun!
(Via New York Times)