James Comey testimony: White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders says Donald Trump is 'not a liar'

Washington: A White House spokeswoman said President Donald Trump was “not a liar”.

Former FBI director James Comey opened his Senate testimony by saying the administration had spread “lies, plain and simple” and “defamed” him and the agency.

The White House had claimed after Comey’s 9 May dismissal that he had lost the confidence of rank-and-file FBI agents.

Trump claimed separately in a television interview that the FBI was “in turmoil” and hadn’t recovered.

Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders disputed Comey’s testimony when asked about it during an off-camera briefing at the White House, saying “I can definitely say the president’s not a liar.”

Speaking on whether the president taped any of his conversations with the fired FBI director, she said didn’t know if President Donald Trump was taping his Oval Office conversations, but said she will “try to look under the couch.”

Trump tweeted in May that fired FBI director James Comey better hope there are no “tapes” of their conversations. Comey, testifying on Capitol Hill on Thursday, said he indeed hoped tapes existed and called on the president to release them if they do.

The White House has refused to answer what the president was referring to in his tweet. Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Thursday that she had “no idea” about Oval Office taping.