James Comey, the former FBI chief fired last week by Donald Trump, revealed that on February 14, the US president asked him to cover up the Russia-gate investigation. In particular, the investigation that the federal police (which also has counter-espionage responsibilities) was carrying out on General Michael Flynn. The New York Times wrote it, stating that it had received a memorandum written by the former FBI chief from a close collaborator of Comey.
Flynn is the man Trump originally made his top national security adviser, and then forced to oust after discovering his shady ties to Moscow.
Flynn had met clandestinely with the Russian ambassador during the election campaign and even received payments. Flynn's position has continued to worsen, now he has been summoned by the parliamentary inquiry commission and a "sub-poena" is hanging over him, ie the obligation to testify under oath.
The suspicion is that Trump is afraid of Flynn's testimony, from which other compromising revelations could emerge, for example on the fact that Trump was aware of contacts with the Russians during the election campaign (which was punctuated by attacks by Russian hackers against rival Hillary Clinton).
At this point, however, the President is already compromised, because attempting to interfere in the work of the federal police, which is independent of executive directives, borders on the abuse of power and obstruction of justice. If the case is confirmed, impeachment would be more than possible.
For its part, the White House denies everything: "The President has never asked Comey or anyone else to put an end to any investigation, including any investigation relating to General Flynn," reads a statement. Trump "has the highest respect for our law enforcement agencies and for all investigations - continues the text - this is not a true or accurate presentation of the conversation between Trump and Comey".
The chairman of the House oversight committee, Republican Jason Chaffez, is asking the FBI to hand over all documents and records of communications between former FBI director James Comey and President Donald Trump. The request shows the rift within the Republican party, within which only a few defend Trump. Many prefer to keep quiet.
