Trump's attorney accuses Comey of 'unauthorised disclosure' of 'privileged communications'

In the wake of former FBI director James Comey's testimony in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, United States President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Marc Kasowitz has insisted that it was Comey, who lied when he detailed conversations between himself and the President, raising the suggestion that Comey committed perjury while testifying under oath.

Kasowitz said Comey's claims that Trump demanded loyalty during an Oval Office meeting were false.

"The President also never told Mr. Comey, "I need loyalty, I expect loyalty" in form or substance. Of course, the Office of the President is entitled to expect loyalty from those who are serving in an administration, and, from before this President took office to this day, it is overwhelmingly clear that there have been and continue to be those in government who are actively attempting to undermine this administration with selective and illegal leaks of classified information and privileged communications. Mr. Comey has now admitted that he is one of these leakers," he said, quoting Comey's account of a meeting between himself and the President in January.

Referring to Comey's admission that he made unauthorised disclosures to the press of privileged communications with the President, Kasowitz said, "The leaks of this privileged information began no later than March 2017 when friends of Mr. Comey have stated he disclosed to them the conversations he had with the President during their January 27, 2017 dinner and February 14, 2017 White House meeting."

"Today, Mr. Comey admitted that he leaked to friends his purported memos of these privileged conversations, one of which he testified was classified. He also testified that immediately after he was terminated he authorised his friends to leak the contents of these memos to the press in order to 'prompt the appointment of a special counsel.' Although Mr. Comey testified he only leaked the memos in response to a tweet, the public record reveals that the New York Times was quoting from these memos the day before the referenced tweet, which belies Mr. Comey's excuse for this unauthorised disclosure of privileged information and appears to entirely retaliatory. We will leave it the appropriate authorities to determine whether this leaks should be investigated along with all those others being investigated."

?"In sum, it is now established that there the President was not being investigated for colluding with the or attempting to obstruct that investigation. As the Committee pointed out today, these important facts for the country to know are virtually the only facts that have not leaked during the long course of these events. As he said yesterday, the President feels completely vindicated and is eager to continue moving forward with his agenda with this public cloud removed," he added.

Accusations of lying whizzed across Washington on Thursday as Comey concluded his bombshell session on the Capitol Hill.

Comey himself suggested during his three-hour sworn testimony that President Donald Trump had a shaky commitment to telling the truth. The White House decried the accusation.

Comey has declined to comment on Kasowitz's accusations even as he departed Capitol Hill Thursday.