"The administration then chose to defame me and more importantly the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray, that it was poorly led, that the work force had lost confidence in its leader," Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee.

"Those were lies plain and simple."

Comey, who was fired May 9, told the senators that Trump had consistently praised his performance, but he felt the need to document his interactions with the president in detail.

"I was honestly concerned he might lie about the nature of our meeting, so I thought it really important to document," he said.