Since James Comey’s testimony on Thursday, in his first conference at the White House, President Donald Trump said he did not ask former FBI Director James Comey to stop investigating his former national-security advisor Michael Flynn’s relations with the Russians. “I didn’t say that … and there’d be nothing wrong if I did say it, according to everybody that I’ve read today, but I did not say that.”

President Trump also disputed James Comey’s assertions before the Senate Intelligence Committee that the President demanded his loyalty.

“I hardly know the man.

I’m not going to say, ‘I want you to pledge allegiance’. Who would do that? Who would ask a man to pledge allegiance … It doesn’t make sense.”

Jonathan Karl of ABC News questioned President Trump's willingness to speak under oath to give his side of the story, to which the President replied, “One hundred percent.”

President Trump also asserted that he doesn't mind giving evidence to the Justice Department special counsel, Robert Mueller. “I would be glad to tell him exactly what I just told you.”

Robert Mueller is currently in charge of the investigation into whether or not the Russians interfered with the US presidential election and if anyone is President Trump’s camp helped the Russians. President Trump’s willingness to testify under the penalty of perjury, either before Congress or in a deposition by Mueller is a significant turn of events.

The only president to appear as a witness before Congress in contemporary times was Gerald Ford. President Ford was called to testify about his decision to pardon Richard Nixon. It is now up to the Senate Intelligence Committee whether they want to take Trump up on his offer.

President Trump claims complete vindication

In his Senate testimony, fired FBI Director James Comey accused President Trump of lying and seeking to impede the ongoing Russian investigation.

Before this press conference, the only direct response from Donald Trump was a tweet in which he claimed “complete vindication.”

In the conference, President Trump was asked how James Comey’s testimony confirms his vindication.

To which, he answered: “No collusion, no obstruction. He’s a leaker, but we want to get back to running our great country: jobs, trade deficits, we want them to disappear fast, North Korea, big problem, Middle East, a big problem. So that’s what I am focused on, that’s what I have been focused on.

"But yesterday showed no collusion, no obstruction. We are doing really well. That was an excuse by the Democrats who lost an election that some people think they shouldn’t have lost because it’s almost impossible for the Democrats to lose the Electoral College, as you know.”

James Comey in his Senate testimony claimed Russians definitively meddled in the US election poll.

“There should be no fuzz on this whatsoever.

The Russians interfered in our election during (the) 2016 cycle … That happened. That’s about as un-fake as you can possibly get.”

It must be noted that James Comey confirmed during his testimony that Mr. Trump was not personally under investigation as part of the Russia probe, to his knowledge.

President Trump ended his interview regarding Comey’s hearing by implying he had lied to the hearing.

“But, we were very, very happy and, frankly, James Comey confirmed a lot of what I said and some of the things that he said just weren’t true,” the President said. James Comey was under oath at Thursday’s Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, hence the president has effectively accused Comey of committing a federal crime by lying to Congress.

“Lordy, I hope there are tapes”

During his hearing with the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, fired FBI Director James Comey said “Lordy, I hope there are tapes” as he believed they would corroborate his version of events as stated in his testimony. Since then, there has been speculation that there might be tapes recording James Comey’s interactions with President Trump.

After firing James Comey, President Trump had tweeted in May,

When asked about whether tapes existed during the Rose Garden press conference, President Trump neither denied nor confirmed if the tapes existed.

“I’m not hinting anything. I will tell you about it over a very short period of time. You’re going to be very disappointed when you hear the answer. Don’t worry.”

Sooner or later President Trump will have to come clean about the possible tapes. Shortly after the President’s conference, leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee announced that they had written to the White House counsel, asking “that he inform the committee whether any White House recordings or memoranda of James Comey’s conversations with President Trump now exist or have in the past.”

If President Trump is in deed in possession of tapes, as per the speculations, he needs to submit them to the Committee by June 23.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED