Is Donald Trump a Liar? James Comey Had Concerns Before Meeting President
The nation did a collective double take Thursday morning when former FBI Director James Comey, while testifying in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, seemed to call President Donald Trump a liar.
Comey was at the Thursday hearing to discuss his firing and investigation into the possible links between the Trump campaign and Russia, which is thought to have influenced the U.S. election last November. Just after the hearing began, Senator Mark Warner, D-Va., asked Comey why he'd written the now-infamous memos that allege Trump once asked the then-director to take a loyalty pledge and, later, to let go of the probe into ex-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Comey said he met with previous presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama in the past and didn't take notes. But for Trump, he testified, there were a combination of factors that made him want a written record: "The circumstances, the subject matter and the person I was interacting with."
"Cirumstances: I was alone with the president of the United States, the president-elect, soon to be president. Subject matter: I was talking about matters that touch on the FBI's core responsibility and relate to the president, president-elect personally. And the nature of the person: I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, and so I thought it really important to document," Comey said. "That combination of things, I'd never experienced before, but it led me to believe I gotta write it down and I gotta write it down in a very detailed way."
James Comey says he took notes after Trump meeting due to concerns “he might lie” about it https://t.co/ZqRwwAcU1i https://t.co/jNMxe4Bilp
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) June 8, 2017
The internet reacted instantly. Actor John Cusack called Trump a "serial liar" and demanded impeachment, while others used GIFs of Will Smith and Russian President Vladimir Putin to express their feelings.
Every time Comey openly calls Trump a liar on the record pic.twitter.com/VCBP86fk1K
— Joel Arthur (@joelcifer) June 8, 2017
Listening to Comey call Trump a liar, under oath, is the best thing. #ComeyDay pic.twitter.com/WZnff1wogr
— Meghan (@meghaninvermont) June 8, 2017
The fellow Trump opted to fire
— Limericking (@Limericking) June 8, 2017
Wrote memos consistently prior
For he came to notice
The shady new POTUS
Was also, by nature, a liar.
Me when Comey called Trump a liar twice. pic.twitter.com/Jn9mIbDpu1
— The Storm That Is Approaching (@kutak) June 8, 2017
Comey spilling the tea and called their president a liar. pic.twitter.com/q8LaKk92Fu
— 👸ðŸ¾KMD. (@kaomimachelle) June 8, 2017
When you're trying to concentrate on the General Election but Comey just called the President a liar pic.twitter.com/VzoLSmh8UP
— Rosa Furneaux (@rosafurneaux) June 8, 2017
James Comey has called the President Trump a LIAR as one reason why he started taking notes. pic.twitter.com/lhe3pjxNxr
— iamz3d 🇹🇹🇺🇸 (@_iamz3d) June 8, 2017
It wasn't the first time Trump's been called out for not telling the truth.
As of Thursday morning, nearly 70 percent of Trump statements scored by PolitiFact were rated "mostly false," "false" or "pants on fire." And earlier this year, Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., tweeted that the president was "a pathological liar," according to the Hill.
