In a series of startlingly candid conversations, President Donald Trump told former FBI Director James Comey that he had serious concerns about the judgment of a top adviser, asked about the possibility of jailing journalists and described a boast from Vladimir Putin about Russian prostitutes, according to Mr. Comey’s notes of the talks obtained by The Associated Press.
The 15 pages of documents contain new details about a series of interactions with Mr. Trump that Mr. Comey found so unnerving that he chose to document them in writing. Those seven encounters in the weeks and months before Mr. Comey’s May 2017 firing include a Trump Tower discussion about allegations involving Mr. Trump and prostitutes in Moscow; a White House dinner at which Mr. Comey says Mr. Trump asked him for his loyalty; and a private Oval Office discussion where the ex-FBI head says the President asked him to end an investigation into Michael Flynn, the former White House National Security Adviser.
The documents had been eagerly anticipated since their existence was first revealed last year, especially since Mr. Comey’s interactions with Mr. Trump are a critical part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether the President sought to obstruct justice. Late Thursday night, Mr. Trump tweeted that the memos “show clearly that there was NO COLLUSION and NO OBSTRUCTION”.
In a Friday morning tweet, Mr. Trump lamented that Mr. Flynn’s life has been “totally destroyed” after he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian Ambassador, “while Shadey (sic) James Comey can Leak and Lie and make lots of money from a third rate book (that should never have been written)”.
In explaining the purpose of creating the memos, which have been provided to Mr. Mueller, Mr. Comey has said he “knew there might come a day when I would need a record of what had happened” to defend not only himself but the FBI as well.
Period of upheaval
The memos cover the first three months of the Trump administration, a period of upheaval marked by staff turnover, a cascade of damaging headlines and revelations of an FBI investigation into potential ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. The documents reflect Mr. Trump’s uneasiness about the Russia probe.
In a February 2017 conversation, for instance, the President told Mr. Comey how Mr. Putin told him, “we have some of the most beautiful hookers in the world”, according to one memo.
In another one, Mr. Comey recounts how Mr. Trump at a private White House dinner pointed his fingers at his head and complained that Mr. Flynn “has serious judgment issues”.
The memos also show Trump’s continued distress at a dossier of allegations compiled by a former British spy whose work was funded by the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign examining potential ties between him and his aides and the Kremlin. Mr. Comey writes how Mr. Trump repeatedly denied to him having been involved in an encounter with Russian prostitutes in a Moscow hotel.
“The President said ‘the hookers thing’ is nonsense,” Mr. Comey writes, noting that Mr. Trump then related the conversation with Mr. Putin about the “most beautiful hookers”. Mr. Comey says Mr. Trump did not say when the Russian leader had made the comment.
The documents also include the President’s musings about pursuing leakers and imprisoning journalists. They also provide insight into Mr. Comey’s personal and professional opinions. He judges the administration’s travel ban to be legally valid.
