President Trump’s obvious lie — that Comey had told him three times he was not under investigation — has been called out as “ farcical ” by former Comey associates. On March 20, Comey testified, “I have been authorized by the Department of Justice to confirm that the FBI, as part out our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government, and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia’s efforts.” The president has been known to exaggerate and/or entirely make up statements purportedly made to him in private, but this one never passed the laugh test.