U.S. President Donald trump did not tweet on Thursday when former FBI Director James Comey testified at the Senate Intelligence Committee not out of his volition. For once, he listened to the advice of his lawyer and senior aides to stay cool and lie low at least for 24 hours.
POTUS heeded their words and on the first opportunity to get back at Comey, who basically said that Trump lied, tweeted that the dismissed director was a leaker. One of those who advised Trump to be silent for one day is Rudolph Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City who told the president the best thing said about Comey’s testimony is nothing, The Washington Post reported.
Lawyer’s statement
While Trump did not Tweet on June 8 which surprised American who were expecting he would release a flurry of reactions to Comey’s damning testimony, the president’s personal lawyer issued a statement. Marc Kasowitz declared Trump innocent of what Comey is accusing him and implied the former director lied.
Kasowitz also labeled Comey a leaker, which the POTUS repeated on Friday. He tweeted that the ex-FBI director gave many false statements and lied, Trump insisted he was vindicated and accused Comey of being a leaker. He was referring to the admission of Comey who asked Daniel Richman, a Columbia law school professor and friend of Comey, to leak the contents of his notes which contain details of the director’s discussion with Trump.
Comey said he leaked it to prompt the appointment of a special counsel who would investigate the Trump administration for working with Russians to interfere in the 2016 election, The New York Post reported.
Tweets create political headaches in Washington
The one-day silence from Trump’s end shows the president understood the possible legal ramifications of his tweets, Sam Nunberg, a former campaign adviser of Trump, said.
The Washington Post noted that while Trump’s previous tweets, which are most of the time impulsive and incendiary, galvanize the president’s base of supporters, it also has a negative side. It creates political headaches for the White House and the president’s staff.
The president’s advisers admit that Trump’s tweets about Comey and the Russian probe have not been helpful to the billionaire’s cause.
It even expanded the cloud over his ability to lead the nation. Jack Quinn, an ex-White House counsel during the term of President Bill Clinton, emphasized that a lot of the difficulty that Trump now faces is the product of his words that provided ammunition to those who want to rev up the Russian investigation.