'No, no, next question': Trump says he did not ask Comey to stop investigating Mike Flynn and impeachment talk is 'totally ridiculous'

  • A reporter asked him about a memo James Comey wrote outlining a conversation he had with Trump about his former national security advisor
  • When Trump told him no - and gave him a second chance - the reporter asked if he'd done anything that 'might worthy of criminal charges...or impeachment'
  • 'I think it’s totally ridiculous. Everybody thinks so,' Trump said of impeachment talk during the East Room news conference
  • Democrats have accused Trump of obstruction of justice and threatened him with removal from office

By Francesca Chambers, White House Correspondent For Dailymail.com

Published: 17:07 EST, 18 May 2017 | Updated: 00:02 EST, 19 May 2017

President Donald Trump smacked down liberals' threats of impeachment Thursday afternoon as 'totally ridiculous' after saying that he did not ask his fired FBI director to stop an investigation into Mike Flynn.

'No, no, next question, Trump said after a reporter asked him about a memo James Comey wrote outlining a conversation he had with Trump about his former national security advisor.  

The reporter moved on and asked Trump reflect on his actions and say honestly if he wonders at times if he'd done anything that 'might worthy of criminal charges...or impeachment.' 

President Donald Trump smacked down liberals' threats of impeachment Thursday afternoon as 'totally ridiculous'

President Donald Trump smacked down liberals' threats of impeachment Thursday afternoon as 'totally ridiculous'

Trump says he did not ask his fired FBI director, James Comey, right, to stop an investigation into Mike Flynn, his fired national security advisor, center

Trump says he did not ask his fired FBI director, James Comey, right, to stop an investigation into Mike Flynn, his fired national security advisor, center

Democrats have accused Trump of obstruction of justice and threatened him with removal from office over his alleged collusion with the Russians and a report this week that claimed he tried to interfere with the FBI's investigation into Flynn.

Rep. Al Green, a Texas Democrat, delivered an impassioned speech on the floor of the House on Wednesday morning calling for Congress to dismiss the Republican president who is only in his fourth month in office.

'This is about what I believe. And this is where I stand. I will not be moved. The president must be impeached,' Green said the morning after the New York Times published its story about the Comey memo.

Green had already called for Trump's impeachment, following a separate revelation that Trump shared highly classified information with the Russians last week in the Oval Office.

He railed against Trump on Wednesday from the floor after the Times' story broke.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters chimed in Tuesday from the Center for American Progress conference.

'I think this is going to put us a little bit further on our way to what I have been calling for for so long, and that is impeachment,' Waters said.

Justin Amash, a Republican congressman from Michigan, said that Comey's memo would be grounds for impeachment, if the allegations are true.  

'I think it’s totally ridiculous. Everybody thinks so,' Trump said of impeachment talk during an East Room news conference. 

Continuing, he said, 'We have to get back to working our country properly so that we can take care of the problems that we have. We have plenty of problems.

'We have a tremendous group of people, millions and millions of people out there that are looking at what you had just said and said, "What are they doing?"

The president said Wednesday in a written statement that he did not attempt to waive Comey off of Flynn, his fired national security adviser who took money from the Russia and Turkey that he did not report to the U.S. government.

The president said Wednesday in a written statement that he did not attempt to waive Comey (pictured) off of Flynn, his fired national security adviser who took money from the Russia and Turkey that he did not report to the U.S. government

The president said Wednesday in a written statement that he did not attempt to waive Comey (pictured) off of Flynn, his fired national security adviser who took money from the Russia and Turkey that he did not report to the U.S. government

Trump fired Flynn on Feb. 13 for lying to the vice president about another subject - his conversations with the Russian ambassador about sanctions during the transition. 

According to the Times, which ran a report with portions of a memo Comey is said to have written, he met with his FBI director the next day. Comey was asked to stay behind after other administration officials were dismissed, the report said. Trump then pressured him to lay off Flynn, calling him a 'good guy.'

The memo hasn't been released. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Wednesday that the White House disputes the accord, as it was reported. 

Comey was subsequently fired by Trump himself over his handling of Hillary Clinton's email investigation, or so the White House says.

Trump said he was justified in canning Comey, despite the complaints he's received from Democrats and Republicans over the timing. The FBI is investigation Trump's presidential campaign for collusion with the Russians as part of its probe into interference in November's presidential election. 

Comey 'was very unpopular with most people,' Trump asserted as he stood next to the Colombian president during the joint news conference.

'We need a great director of the FBI. I cherish the FBI. It’s special. All over the world, no matter where you go, the FBI is special,' he added. 'We're going to have a director who is going to be outstanding. I’ll be announcing that director very soon, and I look forward to doing it. I think the people in the FBI will be very, very thrilled.' 


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