Emerging from the land of alternative facts, Donald Trump’s lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, responded to former FBI Director James Comey’s damning opening statement on Wednesday by saying the president feels “completely and totally vindicated.”
The full statemen from Kasowitz:
Statement from Trump’s lawyer on Comey’s prepared testimony: “The president feels completely and totally vindicated†pic.twitter.com/67leHQY46D
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) June 7, 2017
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The statement from Trump’s lawyer is particularly puzzling given the content of Comey’s statement and the fact that the former FBI director has yet to deliver his full testimony.
With that said, the information in Comey’s opening statement is damning in and of itself.
According to Comey, Trump inappropriately demanded his loyalty and urged him to “lift the cloud” of the Russia scandal that continues to hang over the White House to this day.
Comey also noted that Trump was lying when he told the American people that he did not try to end the Michael Flynn investigation. In fact, it was just the opposite.
“I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go,” Comey recalled Trump telling him during one of his private meetings.
While there is much that Comey’s full testimony will teach us about the investigation into this administration’s ties to Russia and efforts by the president to influence and obstruct that investigation, the former FBI director’s opening statement doesn’t even come close to “completely and totally vindicating” the president.
If anything, Comey’s statement raises more concerns and questions, which will hopefully be answered in Thursday’s highly anticipated testimony.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
