WASHINGTON—Former FBI Director James Comey on Thursday accused the Trump administration of defaming him and telling lies about the agency, but declined to offer his opinion on whether President Donald Trump sought to obstruct justice by asking him to drop an investigation into the former national security adviser.
Comey told lawmakers at a hearing before a Senate panel he was confused by “the shifting explanations” given by the Trump administration for his firing on May 9.
“Although the law required no reason at all to fire the FBI director, the administration then chose to defame me and more importantly the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray, that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader,” Comey said.
“Those were lies, plain and simple, and I am so sorry that the FBI workforce had to hear them and that the American people were told that,” Comey said.
