After an uncharacteristic two-day social media silence, in which some wondered if White House lawyers had finally taken control of Trump's iPhone, President Trump broke a nearly two-day silence on Twitter Friday morning to slam James Comey as a "liar" and a “leaker” the day after the fired FBI director’s testimony before Congress.
In the tweet, which may be the first of many, Trump claimed "total and complete vindication" from the Senate Intel Committee hearing, in which Comey likewise accused him of “lies” and requesting the FBI end a criminal investigation.
Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication...and WOW, Comey is a leaker!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2017
Despite a brief statement by his private lawyer following Comey's three hour testimony, Trump had remained silent on Twitter throughout Thursday surprising many, when much of the U.S. was glued to the TV screen, following every word in Comey's first public comments since the president fired him early last month.
Comey said he believed Trump terminated him over the FBI's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, he also revealed that he had authorized a close friend to leak a memo to the NYT. "I didn't do it myself for a variety of reasons, but I asked him to because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel," Comey said. Comey also disclosed that Loretta Lynch had exerted pressure on him during the Hillary Clinton probe.
During the highly charged hearing with the Senate Intelligence Committee, a blunt-talking Comey said that he was "confused" and "concerned" when Trump said in May that he was firing him for undermining the morale of the agency he had led since 2013.
"The administration then chose to defame me, and more importantly, the FBI by saying the organization was in disarray, that it was poorly led, that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader," Comey said.
We now look forward to Comey's response, as Trump appears unwilling to let it go.