Trump's requests on Russia probe 'very disturbing': James Comey

Fired FBI director James Comey said on Thursday that US President Donald Trump's requests to stop probing the Russia ties of a former national security advisor as "very disturbing" and accused the White House of defaming him.

He said Trump misguided the American public when he said the FBI was in disarray last month after his firing.

"Those were lies, plain and simple," Comey said in his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

"I don't think it's for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct. I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning," he said.