NEW YORK: Former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), James Comey, who was fired by President Donald Trump, has written a most damning book about his relationship with his former boss.

In his book Mr Comey has painted President Trump as a “relentless liar who is obsessively unethical, devoid of humanity and a slave to his ego, who is clueless about his job and unconcerned about a Russian assault on American democracy”.

Mr Trump lashed out at Mr Comey in a tweet on Friday morning, living up to his creed of swift retaliation. “James Comey is a proven LEAKER & LIAR. Virtually everyone in Washington thought he should be fired for the terrible job he did — until he was, in fact, fired. He leaked CLASSIFIED information, for which he should be prosecuted,” the president wrote.

US president says Comey should be prosecuted

“He [Comey] is a weak and untruthful slime ball who was, as time has proven, a terrible director of the FBI.

“His handling of the Crooked Hillary Clinton case, and the events surrounding it, will go down as one of the worst ‘botch jobs’ of history. It was my great honour to fire James Comey!”

In its report about the book, CNN said: “Jabbing the president in a strikingly personal way, Comey noted the size of Trump’s hands, said his skin looked orange and described white rings around his eyes from tanning goggles.”

The well-known media outlet went on to say: “But Comey isn’t just out to hurt Trump’s feelings. He is on a more profound mission: His book is a parable about the threat from a brazen president who demands a warped concept of loyalty and has only disdain for the rule of law.”

“Hell hath no fury like an FBI director scorned,” former Trump adviser Stephen Moore said on CNN, which obtained a copy of the book and corroborated reports about Mr Comey’s highly anticipated recounting of his time in the Trump administration.

In the book entitled “A Higher Loyalty” the former FBI director said dealing with Trump reminded him of his days prosecuting mafia kingpins with their “silent circle of assent”.

“The boss in complete control. The loyalty oaths. The us-versus-them worldview.

“The lying about all things, large and small, in service to some code of loyalty that puts the organisation above morality and above the truth.”

“What is happening now is not normal... It is not fake news. It is not okay,” Mr Comey writes, portraying a brutal, feudal world that seems incompatible with traditional perceptions of the presidency.

The US president lives in “a cocoon of alternative reality” that he tried to pull others around him into, Comey adds.

He also claims that Mr Trump is obsessed with the alleged existence of a video showing Russian prostitutes said to be hired by Trump in Moscow.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2018