What now for the US under ‘lying’ Trump?

Recently fired FBI director James Comey’s assertion that President Donald Trump’s is lying will most likely bog down an already struggling administration.

This week, during the highly anticipated Senate Intelligence Committee appearance by Comey, he said the US president lied on several occasions, and he illustrated Trump’s knack for self-sabotage.

The fresh hits to Trump’s credibility can only further hobble the White House’s economic agenda.

The committee hearing, however, didn’t produce a knockout blow, mostly because most assertions had already been reported.

The S&P 500 Index and other markets rose during the hearing.

In an extraordinary accusation, Comey said Trump lied about him, as well as the FBI and an open investigation.

He said he began documenting his encounters with the president after his first meeting in January because he was concerned Trump “might lie” about the discussions.

He was also confused by the “shifting explanations” regarding his firing.

The president told Comey the dismissal was based on justice department recommendations.

Trump later said it was because of the FBI’s probe into Russian meddling in last year’s election and the country’s potential ties to the Trump campaign.

Trump also said the FBI was in disarray.

“Those were lies, plain and simple,” Comey said.

Comey also said Trump didn’t tell the truth about an FBI investigation into former national security adviser Mike Flynn, who resigned in February over misleading statements he made to Vice-President Mike Pence about his conversations with a Russian diplomat.

Trump told reporters he hadn’t pressured Comey to drop the Flynn investigation. The former FBI boss claimed otherwise, recalling that Trump said he hoped Comey could see to “letting Flynn go”.

Comey added that he leaked his Trump meeting memos to the media after the president tweeted that he may have tapes of their conversations.

The picture Comey painted of the president will further undermine the willingness of trade partners and Democrats to deal with him. – Reuters