U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday accused ousted FBI director James Comey of cowardice in leaking an account of their private meetings.
“I believe the James Comey leaks will be far more prevalent than anyone ever thought possible. Totally illegal? Very 'cowardly!'” tweeted Trump.
Comey last week testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee which is probing Russia's alleged involvement in the 2016 presidential election.
In his testimony, Comey claimed that Trump sought to derail a probe into onetime national security advisor Michael Flynn, who Trump asked to step down after his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. were revealed.
Comey branded the president a liar and said he believed he was fired over his handling of the FBI probe into Russian election meddling, allegations that Trump denied on Friday.
Trump's lawyer, who accused Comey of improperly leaking “privileged communications” with the president following his admission to sharing the contents of memos recounting his private interactions with Trump with a friend, said on Friday that the President plans to file a complaint against Comey.
On Friday, Trump's former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski criticized Comey as not "man enough" for having leaked the memo via his friend rather than doing it himself.
"He gave his notes to a Columbia law professor because he wasn't man enough to give the notes directly to the media," Lewandowski said in an interview, according to AFP.
Though Trump has lambasted Comey as a "leaker," he also said he felt vindicated following the former FBI chief's testimony.