Trump Accuses Comey of Illegally Leaking Classified Information

WASHINGTON (The Washington Post) —
FBI Director James Comey testifying on Capitol Hill in early May. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

President Donald Trump accused former FBI Director James Comey of illegally leaking classified information to the media, part of an angry, early morning Tweetstorm on Monday as the president faces new allegations about his 2016 campaign’s contact with the Russians.

“James Comey leaked CLASSIFIED INFORMATION to the media,” Trump wrote, referring to the FBI director he fired in May. “That is so illegal!”

Testifying before Congress last month, Comey revealed that a Tweet by the president – incorrectly suggesting he may have had taped his conversations with Comey – prompted the former FBI director to ask a close friend to leak to the news media private memos he had kept recounting his interactions with Trump.

The president also used Twitter to push out several Fox news clips Monday morning, including one accusing Comey of having his friend leak top secret information, and another accusing the media of not representing half of the country.

Trump’s tweets came amid reports in The New York Times this weekend that the president’s oldest son, Donald Trump Jr. – as well as his son-in-law Jared Kushner and former campaign manager Paul J. Manafort – met with a Russian lawyer with Kremlin ties during the 2016 campaign, after being promised damaging information on Hillary Clinton.

The president also used Twitter to urge lawmakers to pass legislation to repeal and replace President Obama’s signature health care bill before leaving for the August recess.

“I cannot imagine that Congress would dare to leave Washington without a beautiful new HealthCare bill fully approved and ready to go!” he wrote.

Senate Republicans left for the July 4 holiday after failing to hold a vote on Republican heath-care legislation. The White House has signaled that if Republicans cannot successfully pass a new health-care plan, the administration will pressure lawmakers to simply repeal the current health care law – and then, possibly, work with Democrats to write replacement legislation.

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