White House chief of staff John Kelly reportedly told former FBI Director James Comey minutes after his firing he “didn’t want to work for dishonorable people,” a reference to President Trump.
In his new book, “A Higher Loyalty,” Comey details the phone conversation he had with Kelly, then the secretary of Homeland Security, minutes after Trump fired Comey in May 2017. Sources who read Comey’s new book, out Tuesday, told the Daily Beast about the specifics of the phone call outlined in the memoir.
Comey recalled Kelly was “emotional” over the way Trump fired him. The former FBI director was speaking to FBI employees in Los Angeles at the time and learned of his termination on TV. Comey initially thought it was a prank.
According to Comey’s recollection in the book, Kelly said he was “sick” about the circumstances and “intended to quit” in protest. Kelly then “said he didn’t want to work for dishonorable people,” the Daily Beast reported, which was a reference to Trump.
Trump initially said his decision to axe Comey was based on recommendations he received from Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. But in an interview with NBC News several days later, the president revealed he was thinking of “this Russia thing” when he decided to fire Comey.
Comey had been overseeing the FBI’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Sources told the Daily Beast that in his book, Comey said he told Kelly to stay in his position as head of the Department of Homeland Security and said “this president” needed integrous and principled people working for him.
A senior White House official rejected Comey’s recollection of his call with Kelly, according to the Daily Beast. The official said Kelly said the phone call lasted roughly a minute, and the main message was “I don’t know why you got fired, [and] best of luck to you.”
The official said in Kelly’s version of events, he did not call Trump “dishonorable.”
