The Latest: Comey sees some evidence of obstruction by Trump

The Associated Press
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on former FBI Director James Comey’s book (all times local):

11 p.m.

Former FBI Director James Comey says he thinks there’s “certainly some evidence of obstruction of justice” in the actions of President Donald Trump.

Comey answered “possibly” when asked in an ABC News interview whether the president was attempting to obstruct justice when he asked Comey to end an FBI investigation into former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Trump has denied that conversation, but Comey insisted that it definitely occurred.

He says there’s “certainly some evidence of obstruction of justice,” though he notes that he’s just a witness in the case and not an investigator or prosecutor.

Comey is promoting a new book — and incurring Trump’s wrath as he does. The president has called him a “liar and a leaker.”

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10:30 p.m.

Former FBI Director James Comey says he thinks it’s possible that President Donald Trump might be compromised by the Russians.

In an interview with ABC News that aired Sunday night, the fired FBI chief says he could not discount the possibility that Russia might have something on the president.

He says he knows that’s a “stunning” possibility and something that he never thought he’d say about a president of the United States.

Still, he says it strikes him as unlikely but something that he can’t say without high confidence.

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6:15 p.m.

Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch is defending her actions in the Hillary Clinton email investigation following criticism from former FBI Director James Comey.

In a statement to The Associated Press, Lynch responds to criticism from Comey in his forthcoming book that, early in the email inquiry, she had instructed him to refer to it as a “matter” rather than an “investigation.”

Lynch says she was simply following longstanding Justice Department protocol against confirming or denying the existence of an investigation.

She says she rose above politics throughout the email investigation, and never discussed it with anyone from the Clinton campaign or the Democratic National Committee.

Lynch also says that Comey never raised any concerns with her regarding the email investigation.

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8:05 a.m.

President Donald Trump is again calling former FBI Director James Comey a “slimeball” ahead of the publication of his new book.

Trump’s morning tweet comes ahead of Comey’s interview with ABC to be broadcast in full on Sunday evening.

In an excerpt shown Saturday, Comey says his belief that Hillary Clinton would win the 2016 presidential election was a factor in his decision to disclose the investigation into her emails.

In his tweet, Trump says: “Unbelievably, James Comey states that Polls, where Crooked Hillary was leading, were a factor in the handling (stupidly) of the Clinton Email probe. In other words, he was making decisions based on the fact that he thought she was going to win, and he wanted a job. Slimeball!”

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