Trump should be scared of Comey's testifying in public: Wittes

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ANI New York [U.S.]
Last Updated : May 24 2017 | 10:22 PM IST

James Comey's friend on Tuesday said if he were in place of President Donald Trump he would be scared of the former FBI Director's testimony in public , which he has agreed to give after Memorial Day .

Bejamin Wittes ,a close confidant of Comey , told CNN that he does not want to divulge his conversations with him but he finds it interesting and very telling that Comey declined any opportunity to tell his story in private ."

He added Comey is not a kind of a person who spends time feeling sorry for himself and this is a guy with a story to tell as evident by his approving to testify in public about Russia's influence in the victory of Trump as President and possible links of Trump campaign officials with Moscow..

Wittes , who also runs a blog called Lawfare and is a senior fllow at the Brookings Institution.

When I read the report that President Trump has asked him about the loyalty pledge to the president,Wittes said I was very shocked and it sudenly crystallized in my mind when I used to interact with him on the issues, why he had reacted differently.

Wittes added, "I suddenly understood them in a different and frankly, a more menacing and upsetting light than I had at the time of the conversation."

Wittes cited an instance where Trump invited law enforcement officials to the Blue Room to express his thanks for their work at the inauguration just days before and Comey was camouflaging him with the room's drapes so that Trump could not notice him, but Trump later called him out by name, leading to a greeting captured on camera. Comey felt Trump was trying to "compromise" him.

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First Published: May 24 2017 | 10:22 PM IST

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