Here’s more from Comey’s opening statement for the Senate Intel Committee Thursday, June 8th. In this bit, Comey will testify to trying to explain to President Trump why it wouldn’t be good for Trump to order Comey to investigate the “salacious material” Comey had briefed Trump on.
President Trump was very upset about the salacious allegations and denied them, telling Comey he was considering ordering the FBI Director to investigation the alleged incident to prove it didn’t happen. Comey tried to explain to Trump that that might look like the FBI was investigating Trump personally, which they were not.
“During the dinner, the President returned to the salacious material I had briefed him about on January 6, and, as he had done previously, expressed his disgust for the allegations and strongly denied them. He said he was considering ordering me to investigate the alleged incident to prove it didn’t happen. I replied that he should give that careful thought because it might create a narrative that we were investigating him personally, which we weren’t, and because it was very difficult to prove a negative. He said he would think about it and asked me to think about it.
As was my practice for conversations with President Trump, I wrote a detailed memo about the dinner immediately afterwards and shared it with the senior leadership team of the FBI.”
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This seems to refer to the Steele Dossier, which was published January 10th, 2017, also known as PeeGate. Trump was briefed about the Steele Dossier on the week of January 5th, so it makes sense that this is what Comey is referring to when he says he briefed Trump on the 6th, right before it was published by Buzzfeed.
This exchange is noteworthy because it reveals Trump’s obsession with image and managing narratives; something President’s don’t actually get to do. It also showcases Trump’s complete refusal to comprehend the purpose of the FBI. The FBI is not working as the Public Relations Firm for President Trump.
Business Insider reported that Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said in an interview Tuesday that Trump asked him to publicly refute the ‘infamous’ dossier, “which I could not and would not do.”
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