Trump’s Lawyer: Comey’s Testimony Vindicates the President

Former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee vindicated President Donald Trump on the most important part of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, the president’s private lawyer said Thursday.

Appearing before reporters but not taking questions, attorney Marc Kasowitz noted that Comey confirmed that Trump never was a target of the investigation during his tenure at the bureau, and that he told that to the president.

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“Contrary to numerous false media accounts leading up to today’s hearing, Mr. Comey has now finally confirmed publicly what he repeatedly told President Trump privately — that is, that the president was not under investigation as part of any probe into Russian interference,” he said.

Kasowitz also stressed that Comey confirmed there is no evidence Russia succeeded in changing a single vote in the 2016 election.

“Mr. Comey’s testimony also makes clear that the president never sought to impede the investigation into attempted Russian interference into the 2016 election,” he said. “And in fact, according to Mr. Comey, the president told Mr. Comey that ‘It would be good to find out’ in that investigation, he said, if there were ‘some satellite associates of his who did something wrong.'”

Kasowitz disputed two key elements of Comey’s testimony. He said Trump never urged the director to drop the investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and that he never demanded a pledge of personal loyalty.

“He never said it in form, and he never said it in substance,” he said.

“Mr. Comey has now admitted that he is one of those leakers.”

Kasowitz pointed to the testimony Wednesday of Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Adm. Mike Rogers, director of the National Security Agency. Both testified in Congress that Trump never pressured them to do anything illegal or unethical with respect to the investigation.

“The president, likewise, never pressured Mr. Comey,” he said.

The office of the president is entitled to loyalty from people serving in the administration, Kasowitz said. He added that there has been a clear campaign of “selective and illegal leaks of classified information and privileged communications” to undermine the president.

“Mr. Comey has now admitted that he is one of those leakers,” he said.

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This was a reference to “unauthorized disclosures” Comey made to friends about his conversations with Trump at a private dinner on January 27 and an Oval Office meeting on February 14.  Many legal experts contend, however, that a president’s private conversations are not automatically covered by executive privilege.

Kasowitz also faulted Comey for leaking the contents of memos he wrote documenting his interactions with the president. Comey testified that he wrote them intentionally to be unclassified.

“We will leave it to the appropriate authorities to determine whether these leaks should be investigated, along with all the others that are being investigated,” Kasowitz said.