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Trump lawyer denies president demanded loyalty

Posted at 12:54 PM, Jun 08, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-08 14:56:56-04

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's personal attorney says the president "never, in form or substance" directed former FBI director James Comey to stop investigating anyone. That includes former national security adviser, Michael Flynn.

Marc Kasowitz is responding to Comey's Thursday morning testimony, in which the fired FBI director said Trump urged him to drop the Flynn case.

Kasowitz says that the president is "entitled to expect loyalty" from those serving the administration. But he says Trump never told Comey, "I need loyalty, I expect loyalty," in form or substance, as Comey claimed.

Kasowitz also accused Comey of “unauthorized disclosures” of “private communications” he had with the president.

Kasowitz said there continues "to be those in government who are actively attempting to undermine this administration with selective and illegal leaks of classified information and privileged communications."

He says, "Comey has now admitted that he is one of the leakers."

Comey said in his testimony that he leaked his memos of his conversations with the president to a friend after a tweet by the president suggested he may have taped the conversations.

Kasowitz says Trump's team will "leave it the appropriate authorities" to determine whether the leak should be investigated.

Trump tasked Kasowitz late last month with responding to matters arising from various probes of Russian interference in the election.