Nancy Pelosi: Trump 'needs sleep' and she's 'worried' about his fitness

Erin Kelly | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Pelosi says Trump is sleep-deprived House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi says she's concerned about President Donald Trump's "fitness for office" and says he needs more sleep. (June 9)

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Friday that President Trump "needs sleep" and she is "worried about his fitness" for office.

The California Democrat made the comments at her weekly news conference in response to questions from reporters about Trump's tweets firing back at former FBI James Comey for Comey's testimony Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Pelosi said no one at the White House appears to be "brave enough" to tell the president that his tweets are "beneath the dignity of the office you serve."

She also wondered about Trump's fitness for office.

"The president's fitness for office is something that has been called into question," she said. "I'm very worried about his fitness."

She said she doesn't know if anyone in the White House "has the courage" to try to make Trump be more disciplined about his actions and tweets.

"It's too bad because he needs work, and he needs sleep," Pelosi said.

Trump, who had refrained from tweeting during Comey's testimony Thursday, tweeted Friday that Comey vindicated him and accused the former director of improperly leaking details of their discussions. Trump abruptly fired Comey on May 9 in the midst of the FBI's investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential elections and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

"Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication...and WOW, Comey is a leaker!" Trump tweeted.

Pelosi said Comey's testimony made it clear that Trump engaged in an abuse of power.

"I think he abused power," she said. "Whether he obstructed justice remains for the facts to come forward."

The Democratic leader also said the president's treatment of Comey mirrors how Trump behaved as a businessman. She said business leaders in New York who dealt with Trump in the past told her that Trump's pattern in trying to make a deal is to start off trying to charm his opponents, then threaten them if charm doesn't work, then walk away from the table if threats don't work, then sue them.

Charm. Bully. Abandon. Sue. That's how @realDonaldTrump deals with problems. It's on full display with his actions toward Comey. — Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) June 9, 2017

Two officials familiar with Trump's legal strategy said his lawyers plan to file a complaint about Comey's leak with the Inspector General's office at the Department of Justice, and with the Senate Judiciary and Intelligence committees. The officials were not permitted to speak publicly about legal matters still under consideration.

Comey testified Thursday that he had leaked to the press, through a friend, memos describing his talks with Trump, saying he hoped the stories would spur the appointment of a special counsel to take over the investigation of the Trump campaign's contacts with Russia. A special counsel, Robert Mueller, was appointed last month.

Contributing: Kevin Johnson

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