Trump blasts fired FBI chief Comey after explosive interview

US President Donald Trump has accused James Comey of committing "many crimes," in the wake of an explosive interview in which the fired FBI director denounced the president as “morally unfit” for office.

Trump tweeted Monday that Comey drafted an exoneration of his Democratic rival in the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton, “long before he talked to her” in the investigation into her use of a private email server as secretary of state.

"Comey drafted the Crooked Hillary exoneration long before he talked to her (lied in Congress to Senator G), then based his decisions on her poll numbers," he tweeted. "Disgruntled, he, (former Deputy FBI Director Andrew) McCabe, and the others, committed many crimes!"

The president did not say what he meant by "many crimes" he alleged Comey and McCabe committed.

Last summer, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and Senator Lindsey Graham said Comey drafted a statement exonerating former Clinton for using a private email server before completing the investigation into the matter.

In testimony before Congress in July 2016, Comey said he decided to make the public announcement because of the political pressure then Attorney General Loretta Lynch put on him to downplay the investigation.

Trump has repeatedly accused Comey of lying to Congress during his testimony last year when he detailed meetings in which the president asked for his loyalty and demanded he stop investigating former national security adviser Michael Flynn over his alleged contacts with Russian officials.

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Monday that Trump believes Comey is spreading “revisionist history.”

“I saw a man last night very shaky and unsure to answer questions, not even under oath,” Conway said on CNN. “But we know that when Comey was under oath that he had a very difficult time telling the truth.”

PressTV-Trump ‘morally unfit’ to be president

Donald Trump is morally unfit to lead the US, says James Comey, the former FBI chief who was fired by Trump last year.

In his interview with ABC News that aired Sunday night, Comey suggested Russians have information they could use to blackmail Trump and said there is evidence the president obstructed justice in the ongoing Russia investigation.

"Our president must embody respect and adhere to the values that are at the core of this country, the most important being truth," Comey said. "This president is not able to do that. He is morally unfit to be president."

When Comey was fired last year, the former FBI chief quickly became the chief prosecution witness for Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigating the Russian meddling in the 2016 US election.

His written records of several troubling encounters with the president are at the heart of Mueller's investigation into whether Trump sought to obstruct justice in his attempts to shut down the inquiry.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk