President Trump told former FBI Director James Comey that he didn’t trust the judgment of then-White House national security adviser Michael Flynn, according to just released memos written by Comey.
“The guy has serious judgment issues,” Comey, who was fired by Trump in May 2017, recalled Trump saying of Flynn in a Jan. 28, 2017 memo.
The comment came as Trump was sharing a story about how Flynn did not inform him about a call from a foreign leader — whose name was redacted — until days after the call. The Wall Street Journal reports that the redacted name was that of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I did not comment at any point during this topic and there was no mention or acknowledgment of any FBI interest in or contact with General Flynn,” Comey wrote.
Flynn was removed from his post early last year and pleaded guilty in federal court in December for lying to the FBI in January 2017 about his contacts with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
Flynn was charged on one count of “willfully and knowingly” making “false, fictitious and fraudulent statements” to the FBI about communications exchanged with a Russian envoy shortly after Trump took office.
The Justice Department submitted the memos written by James Comey to members of Congress on Thursday. Their release came just days after the release of Comey’s book, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership.
