Russians may have leverage over Trump: Ex-FBI Director

Former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey has said that it was possible that the Russians have leverage over US President Donald Trump, the media reported.

When asked by CNN on Thursday if he thought that the Russians had leverage over President Trump, Comey first said that he "did not know the answer to that question", but when asked if it was possible, the former FBI chief said "yes".

Comey was speaking at a public forum two years after Trump had fired him, citing his handling of the probe into former presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.

The former FBI Director's comments come amid a looming constitutional battle between Trump and congressional Democrats over Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The report found that no member of the Trump campaign had criminally conspired with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election.

However, Mueller did detail multiple contacts between Trump campaign officials and Russians, and the Special Counsel wrote that the campaign did expect to benefit from Russia's actions surrounding the 2016 presidential election.

But no campaign officials took criminal steps to help.

Comey has been a frequent critic of the President, and said at a previous interview: "I don't believe (Trump) is morally fit to be President of the United States."

--IANS

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