Vladimir Putin boasted of Russia’s ‘beautiful hookers’ to Donald Trump

New memos from James Comey claim Vladimir Putin boasted about the quality of Russia’s prostitutes to Donald Trump.

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

Vladimir Putin boasted to Donald Trump that Russia had “the most beautiful hookers in the world,” according to memos kept by former FBI director James Comey.

The comment came during a brief meeting between the US President and Mr Comey in February last year, during a conversation about the so-called Steele dossier which accused Mr Trump of using prostitutes in Moscow.

Mr Trump adamantly, and repeatedly, distanced himself from the allegations he had watched prostitutes urinate on each other, telling Mr Comey the “hookers thing” was nonsense. However he went on to regale Mr Comey with Mr Putin’s boast, although he didn’t say when the Russian president was supposed to have made it.

The 15 pages of documents released to Congress also reveal that the US President told Mr Comey he had serious concerns about the judgment of his then national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and his chief of staff asked if Mr Flynn’s communications were being monitored under a secret surveillance warrant.

Copies of the memos written by former FBI Director James Comey released to Congress. Picture: AP.

The memos, which were handed over to special counsel Robert Mueller, were provided to Congress on Thursday local time (Friday AEDT) after House Republicans threatened to subpoena the documents.

They contain new details about a series of interactions with the US President including the Trump Tower discussion about claims of Russian prostitutes, a White House dinner at which Mr Comey says Mr Trump asked him for his loyalty and a private Oval Office discussion where the ex-FBI head says the president asked him to end an investigation into Mr Flynn.

The existence of the documents was first revealed last year, and are part of Mr Mueller’s investigation into whether the president sought to obstruct justice over the probe into White House links with Moscow.

Former FBI director James Comey poses for photographs at a Barnes & Noble book store. Picture: AP.

Mr Comey has said he kept the memos because: “I knew there might come a day when I would need a record of what had happened, not just to defend myself, but to defend the FBI and our integrity as an institution and the independence of our investigative function.” According to one memo, Mr Trump complained about General Flynn at a private January 2017 dinner with Mr Comey, saying: “The guy has serious judgment issues.”

He went on to blame Mr Flynn for a delay in returning the congratulatory call of an international leader, telling Mr Comey he would be upset if he had to wait six days for a returned phone call.

“I did not comment at any point during this topic and there was no mention or acknowledgment of any FBI interest in or contact with General Flynn,” Mr Comey wrote.

At that point, the FBI had already interviewed Mr Flynn about his contacts with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, and the Justice Department had already warned White House officials that they were concerned he was vulnerable to blackmail.

Mr Flynn was fired on February 13, 2017, after White House officials said he had misled them about his Russian contacts during the transition period.

In a separate memo, Mr Comey says Mr Trump cleared the Oval Office of other officials, encouraged him to let the investigation into Mr Flynn go and called him a good guy. The memos reveal that days before Mr Flynn’s firing, then-White House chief of staff Reince Priebus asked Mr Comey if Mr Flynn’s communications were being monitored under a secret surveillance warrant.

“Do you have a FISA order on Mike Flynn?” Mr Priebus asked Comey, according to the memos, referring to an order under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Mr Comey said he “paused for a few seconds and then said that I would answer here, but that this illustrated the kind of question that had been asked and answered through established channels.”

Mr Comey’s response is redacted on the unclassified memos.

The memos show Mr Trump often praised Mr Comey’s work. Picture: AP.

The memos are made public amid heightened Republican criticism of the Justice Department. In a letter sent to three Republican House committee chairmen, Assistant Attorney-General Stephen Boyd wrote that the department was sending a classified version of the memos and an unclassified version. The department released Mr Boyd’s letter publicly but did not release the memos.

Justice officials had allowed some politicians to view the memos but had never provided copies to Congress. Mr Boyd wrote that the department had also provided the memos to several Senate committees.

Mr Comey is on a publicity tour to promote his new book, A Higher Loyalty. He revealed last year that he had written the memos after conversations with Mr Trump.

Mr Boyd wrote in the letter that the department “consulted the relevant parties” and concluded that releasing the memos would not adversely affect any ongoing investigations.

Mr Boyd said the decision to allow the release of the memos “does not alter the department’s traditional obligation to protect from public disclosure witness statements and other documents obtained during an ongoing investigation.”

Mr Comey said in an interview Thursday with CNN that he’s “fine” with the Justice Department turning his memos over to Congress.

“I think what folks will see if they get to see the memos is I’ve been consistent since the very beginning, right after my encounters with President Trump, and I’m consistent in the book and tried to be transparent in the book as well,” he said.

Last week, the GOP chairmen of three House committees demanded the memos by Monday. The Justice Department asked for more time, and the politicians agreed.