Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has once again dabbled into domestic American politics by making an asylum offer to the former director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), James Comey, who recently appeared before the American congress over disagreements he has with President Donald Trump, who fired him.
Comey who was sacked by the American President had suggested that President Trump had wanted him to pledge personal allegiance to him instead of to the United States of America among other reasons.
Putin who could not resist poking fun at America said that Comey’s release of records of his conversations with President Donald Trump equated to being an activist, like former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who lives in Russia under asylum.
If Comey, who was fired by Trump, continues to be persecuted, Putin said on national television “we will be ready to provide him political asylum.”
It will be recalled that Comey had accused President Donald Trump of firing him to try to undermine the FBI investigation into possible collusion between his 2016 presidential campaign team and Russia.
Trump dismissed Comey on May 9 and the administration gave differing reasons for the action.
Trump later contradicted his own staff and acknowledged on May 11 that he fired Comey because of the Russian probe.
Asked at a U.S. congressional hearing why he was fired, Comey said he did not know for sure.
“Again, I take the president’s words. I know I was fired because of something about the way I was conducting the Russia investigation was in some way putting pressure on him, in some way irritating him, and he decided to fire me because of that.”
Comey earlier told the Senate Intelligence Committee in the most eagerly anticipated U.S. congressional hearing in years that he believed Trump had directed him to drop an FBI probe into the Republican president’s former national security adviser as part of the Russia investigation.
He would not say whether he thought the president sought to obstruct justice.
Comey said the administration had told lies and defamed him and the FBI after the president dismissed him.
The implications of Putin’s offer, though not lost on the American government, the Trump administration is yet to dignify it with an answer. Comey too had kept a sealed lips.