Comey: 'Trump morally unfit to be president'
April 16, 2018
Former FBI director James Comey said in an ABC News interview on Sunday that US President Donald Trump was "morally unfit" to be president.
Comey was fired by Trump in May of last year as the FBI was probing possible connections between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia's alleged meddling in the American elections.
The interview was his first major appearance since being removed from office.
Read more: Donald Trump cast as lying 'mafia boss' in James Comey book
Trump has lashed out at Comey and his book, "A Higher Loyalty" on Twitter calling him a "slimeball" and the "WORST FBI Director in history, by far!"
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway slammed former FBI director James Comey on Monday accusing him of having "a revisionist view of history" and seeming like "a disgruntled employee."
The Republican National Committee had already accused Comey of being willing to "say anything to sell books," and that the interview showed "his true higher loyalty is to himself."
Here are the key excerpts:
On Trump's suitability to be president
"I don't buy this stuff about him being mentally incompetent or early stages of dementia. I don't think he's medically unfit to be president. I think he's morally unfit to be president. He is morally unfit to be president.
"Our president must embody respect and adhere to the values that are at the core of this country. The most important being truth. This president is not able to do that."
On obstruction of justice
Comey said he thinks there's "certainly some evidence of obstruction of justice" in the actions of Trump when he asked Comey to end an FBI investigation into former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn. Trump has denied that conversation, but Comey insisted that it definitely occurred. However, he noted that he's just a witness in the case and not an investigator or prosecutor.
Read more: Yale constitutional scholar: Trump’s justification of firing Comey looks like obstruction of justice
On Russia
Comey said he believes the source of a "dossier" containing raw intelligence on Trump's connections with Russians to be "credible." He said he believed from the outset in the credibility of the source — former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele.
Read more: What you need to know about the five inquiries looking into Donald Trump, James Comey and Russia
On Trump's treatment of women
"A person ... who talks about and treats women like they're pieces of meat, who lies constantly about matters big and small and insists the American people believe it, that person's not fit to be president of the United States, on moral grounds. And that's not a policy statement," Comey said.
On questions of loyalty
"He asked for my loyalty personally as the FBI director. My loyalty's supposed to be to the American people and to the institution," said Comey. Trump responded on Twitter, "I never asked Comey for Personal Loyalty. I hardly even knew this guy. Just another of his many lies."
av/rt (AFP, DPA, Reuters)