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Ex-FBI Director Comey Claims Trump Could Be Prosecuted Over Mueller Report

© AP Photo / Andrew HarnikFormer FBI director James Comey speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Thursday, June 8, 2017, in Washington.
Former FBI director James Comey speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Thursday, June 8, 2017, in Washington. - Sputnik International
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Former FBI Director James Comey said Thursday during a CNN town hall that "it sure looks like" that there is enough evidence to prosecute US President Trump for obstruction of justice based on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report.

"It sure looks like he did, in connection with a couple of episodes — the direction to (former White House counsel) Don McGahn to get the special counsel fired is to my mind a flaming example of criminal intent […] The President is not above the law, and I don't accept the notion that because the President is the head of the executive branch he can't ever obstruct justice in connection with executive branch activities", Comey said.

READ MORE: Impact of the Mueller Report and Questions it Failed to Answer

Comey also touched upon the way US Attorney General William Barr introduced the Mueller report with his summary to the US Congress, stressing that Barr "continues to talk as if he is the President's lawyer".

"That is not the attorney general's job. It's a political appointment by the President, but you lead an institution that belongs to the American people and not the President", Comey said.

In this Monday, Feb. 20, 2017 traditional Russian wooden dolls called Matryoshka depicting US President Donald Trump, centre left and Russian President Vladimir Putin are displayed for sale at a souvenir street shop in St.Petersburg, Russia - Sputnik International
US Democrats Got 'Major Political Utility' From Russiagate
Comey's appearance at the town hall marked two years since Trump fired him. His dismissal led Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to appoint Mueller to continue the so-called Russiagate investigation. That firing was also one of 10 instances introduced in the Mueller report as possible obstruction of justice on the part of the US president, according to The Hill.

Mueller concluded in his report that there was no alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Similarly, Barr has said the evidence presented in the report did not offer grounds to establish that Trump committed an obstruction of justice offence.

READ MORE: Hillary Clinton Roasts Trump Over Talk With Putin After Mueller Report Release

U.S. Attorney General William Barr testifies before a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the proposed budget estimates for the Department of Justice in Washington, U.S. April 10, 2019 - Sputnik International
Barr Declines to Testify in US House Hearing on Mueller Report - Nadler
Russian officials have said Mueller’s report provides zero evidence that supports allegations of election meddling, and that the charges were fabricated to excuse a candidate’s loss and distract from real issues like political corruption.

Comey testified before a Senate Committee shortly after Trump fired him in 2017, but refused to appear before a House committee unless that hearing also took place in public because Comey did not want his comments leaked or distorted due to lack of context.

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