President Donald Trump asked former FBI Director James Comey to investigate details of a dossier that alleges he spent time with prostitutes in a hotel in Moscow according to a book due out Tuesday.
Comey tells ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos in an interview set to air on "20/20" Sunday night that Trump wanted him to discredit a report from Christopher Steele that alleges he had a sexual encounter on a 2013 trip to Moscow.
During the interview, Comey talks about how surreal the incident felt to him when Trump brought it up during a Jan. 27, 2017, dinner. He recounts that incident and others in the book, "A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership."
“I'm about to meet with a person who doesn't know me, who's just been elected president of the United States, [and] by all accounts, and from my watching him during the campaign, could be volatile,” Comey said. “And I'm about to talk to him about allegations that he was involved with prostitutes in Moscow and that the Russians taped it and have leverage over him.”
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Comey goes on saying, "I was floating above myself, looking down, saying, 'You're sitting here, briefing the incoming president of the United States about prostitutes in Moscow,'" Comey said.
Trump fired Comey in May 2017, 10 months into the investigation of possible collusion with Russia by the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election.
According to a trailer advertising the interview, Comey is also asked about the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server, and whether he has information that would be hurtful to the president.
Comey will kick off a publicity tour for the book Sunday, coinciding with the Stephanopoulos interview, which will be the first of several scheduled over the next few weeks.
Sunday’s interview will be the first of several scheduled for the next few weeks following the release of the book.
Here’s what to know about the interview:
Who is interviewing Comey: George Stephanopoulos is conducting the interview.
What time: The interview is set for 10 p.m. ET
What channel: ABC is airing the interview. It is a special "20/20" episode.
What you may not know: According to ABC, the interview lasted five hours and Comey answered every question Stephanopoulos posed.
Credit: Andrew Harnik
Credit: Andrew Harnik
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