Trump lawyer: Comey’s testimony absolves the president

President Donald Trump’s lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, said former FBI Director James Comey’s congressional testimony vindicated the president of Russia collusion. “Mr. Comey’s testimony makes clear that the president never sought to impede the investigation into attempted Russian interference in the 2016 election,” Kasowitz said following Comey’s appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee today. Comey told the congressional panel he felt uneasy when interacting with Trump and wrote contemporaneous memos after each conversation, later enlisting a friend to share the contents of one those memos with a reporter. Kasowitz accused Comey of making unauthorized disclosures to the press of privileged communications with the president. Despite the Trump team’s positive spin on today’s testimony, critics say Comey’s claims of presidential pressure regarding the Michael Flynn investigation give more credence to obstruction of justice accusations. Neither Trump nor Comey has offered evidence, such as tape recordings, to back up their stories. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., released a statement shortly after Comey’s testimony asking Trump to testify under oath before Congress. The White House has not yet responded.

We Sift the news so you don’t have to.