The former director of the FBI has said that President Donald Trump “treats women like they’re pieces of meat” in a wide-ranging and fiercely critical interview.

James Comey was fired by Trump in May 2017, and is now on a publicity tour for his new book, A Higher Loyalty, which he says is “about ethical leadership”. In an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulous on Sunday night, Comey said that he saw Trump as being morally unfit for office.

“A person who sees moral equivalence in Charlottesville, who talks about and treats women like they’re pieces of meat, who lies constantly about matters big and small and insists the American people believe it, that person’s not fit to be president of the United States, on moral grounds,” he said.

Trump has been accused of sexual assault and sexual harassment, including non-consensual kissing or groping, by at least 15 women. Not all of these allegations became public knowledge once he announced his bid for the US presidency: in 1989, his then-wife Ivana claimed that he had raped her (a claim she later withdrew), and in 1997 businesswoman Jill Harth sued him for nonviolent sexual harassment (she also withdrew this claim when another was settled). Former contestants of the Miss Universe franchise, including Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, have also alleged that Trump – who owned the pageants – would enter their dressing rooms while they were getting ready.

CNN Politics has more on this story here.

Women’s Daily Dispatch: The news you need to know on 16/4/18