WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is asserting that fired FBI Director James Comey's testimony to Congress represents "total and complete vindication'' in the Russia case.
Trump, who did not post on his Twitter account as Comey appeared before the Senate intelligence committee Thursday, sent a tweet at daybreak Friday. In the post, the president said: "Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication --- and WOW, Comey is a leaker.''
Trump was referring to Comey's revelation that he had passed on to a friend a written memo he'd made detailing a meeting with Trump at the White House - and had asked a friend to give it to a reporter for the New York Times.
During much of the increasingly heated debate surrounding the FBI's investigation of Russia's role in the election, Trump has chafed over news leaks, arguing that news organizations had not given them proper attention.
Trump has scheduled a joint news conference for Friday afternoon with visiting Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.
He'll also be participating in an infrastructure event at the Department of Transportation and holding meetings with his Romanian counterpart before departing for New Jersey, where he'll spend the weekend at one if his properties.
Comey asserted Thursday that Trump fired him because of the ongoing investigation into possible ties between Trump's campaign and Russia. Comey also bluntly accused the White House of spreading "lies, plain and simple.''