2017年CRI Fired former FBI chief testifies before Senate

 

Former FBI Director James Comey offers testimony¹ to the Senate Intelligence Committee about his conversations with U.S. President Donald Trump² concerning Trump's ties to Russia on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on June 8th, 2017. [Photo: Imagine China]

In a highly anticipated U.S. Senate hearing on Thursday, former FBI director James Comey said he was fired because of the agency's investigation³ into possible Russian interference in the U.S. election last November.

Comey, who made his first public appearance since he was fired almost a month ago, explored the reasons behind the sudden move taken by President Donald Trump.

"It's a fair judgment⁴. It's my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation. I was fired in some way to change, or the endeavor was to change, the way the Russia investigation was being conducted," said Comey.

He acknowledged that the President had on a number of occasions asked for his loyalty⁵ and once had hoped he would drop the investigation of the President's former National Security Advisor⁶ Michael Flynn.

"I took it as a direction. I mean, this is a president of the United States with me alone saying, 'I hope this.' I took it as, this is what he wants me to do," said Comey.

The former FBI chief accused the Trump administration of defaming him and the FBI following his abrupt⁷ firing and said statements made by the administration were lies, plain and simple.

He also explained why he took notes of his encounters with President Trump, saying that he was concerned that the President may lie about the nature of their meetings.

"I knew there might come a day when I might need a record of what happened not only to defend myself but to protect the FBI and our integrity as an institution and the independence of our investigative function," said Comey.

The former FBI chief also disclosed that he had asked a friend, a law professor at Columbia University, to leak his memos⁸ to a reporter. He thought such a move might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.

However, Senator Marco Rubio pointed⁹ out that the only thing in this whole investigation that was not leaked was the fact that the President was not personally under investigation.

But he was also questioned by senators from both sides on why he did not stop the President and tell him that his comments and requests were inappropriate.

"Maybe if I were stronger, I would have. I was so stunned¹⁰ by the conversation that I just took it in," said Comey.

So far, President Trump has kept unusually silent during and after the hearings. But his lawyer Marc Kasowitz held a news conference to fire back, saying Comey's testimony proved that the President did not collude with Russia during last year's election.

The lawyer also denied a couple of accusations¹¹ the former FBI director had made during the hearing.

"The President never, suggested that Mr. Comey, quote, let Flynn go, close quote," said Kasowitz.

"The President also never told Mr. Comey, quote, I need loyalty, I expect loyalty, close quote," added Kasowitz.

He also accused Comey of leaking unauthorized information to the media.

The two-day-long senate hearing is now closed. But it may be some time before the truth is out.

1 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

5 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

6 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

7 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

8 memos   

n.备忘录( memo的名词复数 )；（美）内部通知

参考例句：

• Big shots get their dander up and memos start flying. 大人物们怒火中烧，备忘录四下乱飞。 来自辞典例句
• There was a pile of mail, memos and telephone messages on his desk. 他的办公桌上堆满着信件、备忘录和电话通知。 来自辞典例句

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

10 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

11 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。