Former FBI chief is a leaker claims Trump

The president, who had remained silent on Thursday while Mr Comey accused the administration of spreading “lies”, struck back an early morning tweet yesterday in which he said: “Wow, Comey is a leaker.”

Mr Comey had laid bare on Capitol Hill months of distrust of the president, bluntly asserting that Mr Trump had fired him to interfere with the probe of Russia’s ties to the Trump campaign.

President Trump’s tweet said: “Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication ... and WOW, Comey is a leaker.”

Mr Comey’s testimony, at a hugely anticipated hearing that captured the country’s attention, provided a gripping account of his interactions with President Trump and underscored the discord that had soured their relationship.

He portrayed President Trump as a chief executive dismissive of the FBI’s independence and made clear that he interpreted Mr Trump’s request to end an investigation into his former national security adviser as an order coming from the president.

Though Republicans worked to discredit Mr Comey and to blunt the impact of his testimony, the ex-director’s statement deepened questions about the basis for his and about whether Mr Trump’s actions constituted obstruction of justice.

The president’s private lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, seized on Mr Comey’s admission that he had told Mr Trump on multiple occasions that he was not personally under investigation and maintained the testimony made clear that Mr Trump “never directed or suggested that Mr Comey stop investigating anyone”.

Mr Kasowitz also jumped on Mr Comey’s revelation that he had released details of his private conversations with the president, casting the former FBI director as one of the “leakers” set on undermining the administration.

At one point, Mr Comey practically dared President Trump to release any recordings of their conversations, a prospect the president once alluded to in a tweet.

“Lordy, I hope there are tapes,” he said, suggesting such evidence would back up his account over the president’s.

“It’s my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation,” Mr Comey said. “That is a very big deal, and not just because it involves me.”