Trump calls ex-FBI director Comey 'slime ball' over his deeply critical book

U.S. President Donald Trump attacked former FBI Director James Comey on Friday as a "weak and untruthful slime ball," reacting to news accounts that cite Comey as searingly critical of the president in a memoir due to be published next week.

"It was my great honor to fire James Comey!" Trump said in a series of angry Twitter messages, adding Comey had been a terrible FBI director.

Trump fired Comey last May and has publicly criticized himsince then, though not to this extent.

Comey is doing a series of media interviews before the release of his book, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership,which news organizations have said paints a deeply unflattering picture of the president.

In an interview with ABC broadcast on Friday, Comeydiscussed his initial encounters last year with the new president, whom he described as volatile, defensive andconcerned more about his own image than about alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

James Comey's testimony in 5 minutes

7 years ago

Duration 5:09

Highlights from former FBI director's Capitol Hill testimony about his dealings with Donald Trump and Russian meddling in the U.S. election

In the first excerpt of the interview, broadcast on GoodMorning America,Comey said he cautioned Trump against orderingan investigation into a salacious intelligence dossier that alleged a2013 encounter with prostitutes in Moscow.

In the book, Comey wrote that Trump raised the intelligencedossier with him at least four times during meetings after Trumptook office in January, according to the Washington Post, whichobtained a copy.

'Out-of-body experience'

The dossier was compiled by former British intelligenceofficer Christopher Steele about Trump's ties to Russia and included an allegation that involved prostitutes.

Comey told ABC that Trump denied the allegations and said hemight want the FBI to investigate allegations in the dossier toprove they were not true.

"I said to him'Sir, that's up to you but you want to becareful about that because it might create a narrative thatwe're investigating you personally and, second, it's verydifficult to prove something didn't happen,'" Comey said.

Trump was worried there was a chance his wife, MelaniaTrump, would believe the allegations.

Comey said he told the president the FBI had not proved ordisproved the allegations but thought it was important Trumpknew about them.

Comey said the allegations in the dossier had not beenverified at the time he left the FBI.

Asked how bizarre that meeting with Trump was, Comey said:"Very weird. Really weird. It was almost an out-of-body experience for me. I was floating above myself looking downsaying 'you're sitting here briefing the incoming president ofthe United States about prostitutes in Moscow.'"