Trump's Lawyer: President 'Feels Completely Vindicated' After Comey Testimony

WASHINGTON, DC — President Trump's personal lawyer Marc Kasowitz delivered a sharp rebuttal Thursday to claims made by former FBI Director James Comey, denying the president ever asked for loyalty and accusing Comey of engaging in unauthorized leaking. The lawyer read a statement at a press conference following Comy's testimony to a Senate committee but took no questions.

"Contrary to numerous false press accounts leading up to today's hearing, Mr. Comey has now finally confirmed publicly what he repeatedly told the president privately: The president was not under investigation as part of any probe into Russian interference," Kasowitz said.

He went on to deny Comey's testimony that Trump suggested or told Comey to "let go" the investigation of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

"Of course, the office of the president is entitled to expect loyalty from those who are serving in an administration," he said.

Kasowitz went on to suggest that Comey might have committed wrongdoing by leaking his own memos to the press, though it's not clear what grounds Kasowitz has for this claim. He added: "We will leave it to the appropriate authorities to determine whether these leaks should be investigated along with all those others being investigated."

The quotes above are from the broadcast version of the statement, though the written version of the lawyer's statement was riddled with typos and errors. You can see the print statement in full here:

Other Republicans took a different tack in defending Trump. Speaker Paul Ryan defended the president's actions, as described by Comey, by saying, "The president's new at this. He's new at government."

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel issued a statement deeply critical of Comey: "Today's testimony proved what we have known all along: President Trump is not under investigation, there's still no evidence of collusion, and he did not hinder the investigations in any way," she said. However, these first two assertions were not supported by Comey's statement today, and the last remains disputed. "Nobody thinks more of James Comey than James Comey, and his testimony today was simply a last ditch attempt to save face with the American people."

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