James Comey says he believes he lost his job as head of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation because of its investigation of Russian involvement in the 2016 elections. Comey served as the FBI’s director until last month. Then President Donald Trump ordered his dismissal. Comey met with a U.S. Senate committee Thursday. He accused Trump of not being truthful when he said he fired Comey because FBI agents no longer trusted his leadership and that the agency was in disarray. Those were lies, plain and simple. Comey went further then he did in written testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee. Those written statements were released on Wednesday. In the earlier testimony, the former FBI director said he and the president spoke about Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Comey said Trump told him that he hoped he would drop an investigation into Flynn’s possible connections to Russian officials. Comey remembered the president saying, “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go.” He also said that Trump told him during a private White House dinner: “I need loyalty. I expect loyalty.” That was troubling, Comey said, because the FBI is supposed to operate independently of the president.