The New York Times is reporting that fired FBI Director James Comey claimed in a memo that President Donald Trump directly told him to close an investigation into Trump’s former National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn.
“I hope you can let this go,” Comey said Trump told him. The President reportedly added, “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.”
The White House denied Comey’s account in a statement to the Times:
While the president has repeatedly expressed his view that General Flynn is a decent man who served and protected our country, the president has never asked Mr. Comey or anyone else to end any investigation, including any investigation involving General Flynn. The president has the utmost respect for our *************** agencies, and all investigations. This is not a truthful or accurate portrayal of the conversation between the president and Mr. Comey.
The memo reportedly states that Trump made the request of Comey during an Oval Office meeting on Feb. 14, one day after Flynn resigned. The Times further reports that Trump suggested to Comey that reporters should be jailed for publishing classified information
NBC News and CNN have confirmed the existence of the memo. And NBC confirmed the specific line in the memo: “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go.”
The news comes as Trump appeared to admit in an interview last week that the Russia investigation was on his mind when he fired Comey, which led to debate about whether Trump had obstructed justice.
Ken Dilanian reported on MSNBC, through a source that “Comey intends to speak publicly about this at some point.”
This story is currently breaking and will be updated as new details become available.
