How ex-FBI director James Comey's scathing memoir led to a spiteful war of words between him and President Trump

  • Video report by ITV News Washington Correspondent Robert Moore

Ex-FBI director James Comey's memoir has shaken the White House with some of the most devastating claims against President Trump yet littering its pages.

Eleven months after the controversial dismissal from his position, Comey's scathing retort paints President Trump as a liar and a mobster-like figure.

What are the most explosive claims in James Comey's memoir?

In James Comey's vengeful book, A Higher Loyalty, Trump is compared to a mafia don, relishing in an "ego driven" leadership based on "personal loyalty".

The former FBI chief states the president sought to blur the lines between law and politics by turning the heat up on his investigation into Russian election interference.

Comey states that Trump repeatedly asked him to investigate allegations involving the president and Russian prostitutes in a Moscow hotel.

This was something Trump strongly denied, with Comey believing that the president wanted it investigated to reassure first lady Melania.

In unsparing detail, Mr Comey makes a series of personal jabs at the president in a deliberate attempt to put his integrity under the spotlight.

Mr Comey, who stands at a tall 6ft8, describes his first impressions of President Trump.

He notes Trump as "shorter than expected" with a "too long" tie and "bright white half-moons" under his eyes that he suggests come from tanning goggles - a profile bound to infuriate the president.

The former FBI agent mentions that he noted the president's hand size, saying they were "smaller than mine but did not seem unusually so".

In further fury, Comey writes: "Donald Trump's presidency threatens much of what is good in this nation."

He describes the administration as a "forest fire" that cannot be contained by ethical leaders in the government.

The book closely adheres to Mr Comey's written statements and public testimony about his interactions with the president.

The memoir brands Mr Trump as "untethered to truth", claiming he had been fixated on having the FBI debunk salacious rumours he said were untrue but could distress his wife.

How has Trump and the White House reacted?

Sarah Huckabee Sanders made a furious statement to press earlier today. Credit: PA

The president has hit back heavily on Twitter at the book, which is to be released next week.

Mr Trump has referred to Mr Comey as an "untruthful slime ball", saying it was "an honour" to fire him from his post at the FBI.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier furiously branded Comey as a "disgraced partisan hack" when addressing the press.

Mr Comey was fired from his position as Director of the FBI in May 2017, before being replaced by Robert Mueller as special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation.

Mueller's investigation will now assess whether Mr Trump obstructed justice by firing Mr Comey, which the president strongly denies.

The book, fully titled A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership, is set to be released next week.