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| FILE - In this May 8, 2017, file photo, then-FBI Director James Comey speaks to the Anti-Defamation League National Leadership Summit in Washington. The White House is disputing a report that President Donald Trump asked Comey to shut down an investigation into ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn. |
WASHINGTON
(AP) -- FBI Director James Comey wrote in a memo that President
Donald Trump had asked him to shut down an FBI investigation into ousted
national security adviser Michael Flynn, a person familiar with the
situation told The Associated Press Tuesday.
The
person had seen the memo but was not authorized to discuss it by name
and spoke on condition of anonymity. The existence of the memo was first
reported Tuesday by The New York Times.
The White House denied the report.
"While
the President has repeatedly expressed his view that General Flynn is a
decent man who served and protected our country, the President has
never asked Mr. Comey or anyone else to end any investigation, including
any investigation involving General Flynn," the White House said in a
statement.
Trump abruptly fired Comey last week, saying he did so based on his very public handling of the Hillary Clinton email probe.
But
the White House has provided differing accounts of the firing. And
lawmakers have alleged that the sudden ouster was an attempt to stifle
the bureau's investigation into Trump associates' ties to Russia's
alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Comey's
memo detailing his conversation with Trump would be the clearest proof
to date that the president has tried to influence that investigation.
The Times said it was part of a paper trail Comey created documenting
what he saw as Trump's efforts to improperly interfere in the ongoing
probe.
The Justice Department declined to comment.
According
to the Times, Comey wrote in the February memo that Trump told him
Flynn had done nothing wrong. But Comey did not say anything to Trump
about limiting the investigation, replying, "I agree he is a good guy."
The
newspaper said Comey was in the Oval Office that day with other
national security officials for a terrorism threat briefing. When that
ended, Trump asked everyone to leave except Comey, and he eventually
turned the conversation to Flynn.
On Tuesday,
for the second night in a row, Senate Republicans and Democrats were
caught off-guard as they entered the chamber for a scheduled vote.
"I
don't know the facts, so I really want to wait until I find out what
the facts are before commenting," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told
reporters.
Asked if it would be obstructing
justice for Trump to have asked Comey to drop the Flynn investigation,
Cornyn said: "You know, that's a very serious charge. I wouldn't want to
answer a hypothetical question."
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., emphatically said he's not commenting on news stories anymore.
"Let's
get to the bottom of what happened with the director. And the best way
to get to the bottom of it, is for him to testify. ... I'm not going to
take a memo, I want the guy to come in," Graham told reporters, adding,
"If he felt confident enough to write it down, he should come in and
tell us about it."
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said Comey needs to come to Capitol Hill and testify.
Sen.
Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence
Committee, said he will ask Comey for additional material as part of the
panel's investigation. "Memos, transcripts, tapes - the list keeps
getting longer," he said.
Democratic Sen.
Chris Murphy of Connecticut tweeted: "Just leaving Senate floor. Lots of
chatter from Ds and Rs about the exact definition of 'obstruction of
justice.'"
There is no sign the FBI's Russia
investigation is closing. Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe told
Congress last week the investigation is "highly significant" and said
Comey's dismissal would do nothing to impede the probe.
