James Comey blasts Donald Trump as 'morally unfit' to be president and says he treats women like 'pieces of meat'

The former FBI director described the president as a 'stain' on everyone who worked for him
Former FBI director James Comey was interviewed on ABC ahead of his book release
AP
Tom Powell16 April 2018

Former FBI Director James Comey has accused Donald Trump of being “morally unfit” to be the US president.

In his first television interview since being fired by Mr Trump last year, Mr Comey described the president as a “stain” on everyone who worked for him and said he treats women like “pieces of meat”.

But he added he did not support calls for impeachment as that would “let the American people off the hook”.

“People in this country need to stand up and go to the voting booth and vote their values," he said.

Hours before the interview aired, the president unleashed a Twitter outburst that labelled Mr Comey "slippery", suggested he should be put in jail and branded him "the WORST FBI Director in history, by far!"

War of words: Donald Trump accused Mr Comey of being the 'worst FBI director in history'
AFP/Getty Images

The interview on ABC marked the release of Mr Comey’s forthcoming book, which offers his version of events surrounding his firing and the investigations into Russian election meddling and Hillary Clinton's email practices.

The FBI director, who until his firing last May led an investigation into possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, acknowledged that it was "stunning" to think that Russia could have damaging information about an American president. But he said that in Mr Trump's case, he could not discount the possibility that the president had been compromised.

"These are more words I never thought I'd utter about a president of the United States, but it's possible," Mr Comey told ABC News' chief anchor George Stephanopoulos.

He also answered "possibly" when asked if the president was attempting to obstruct justice when he cleared the Oval Office of other officials last February before encouraging him to close the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Comey's book, "A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership," will be released on Tuesday
AP

Mr Comey also said he believed that Mr Trump was "morally unfit" to be president.

"A person who sees moral equivalence in Charlottesville, who talks about and treats women like they're pieces of meat, who lies constantly about matters big and small and insists the American people believe it - that person's not fit to be president of the United States, on moral grounds," he said.

On Sunday Mr Trump rejected Mr Comey's assertion that the president had sought his loyalty at a January 2017 dinner, saying "I hardly even knew this guy. Just another of his many lies".

Mr Trump fired Mr Comey in May 2017, setting off a scramble at the Justice Department that led to the appointment of Mueller as special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation.

Mr Mueller's probe has expanded to include whether Mr Trump obstructed justice by firing Mr Comey. So far, 19 people have been charged in the investigation.

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