As former FBI director James Comey prepares for the release of his new book coupled with a media blitz beginning Sunday, the Republican National Committee has prepared an aggressive response to discredit him. 
 
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 Talking points prepared by the RNC and obtained by ABC News will be distributed to surrogates and allies of the president and are aimed at attacking what are called Comey’s “misstatements and misconduct,” contradictions and credibility. 
 
 Comey sits down for an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos airing Sunday. 
 
 The RNC is also preparing to set up a “war room” to monitor media appearances and respond in real time, according to the RNC plan. 
 
 “James Comey’s publicity tour is a self-serving attempt to make money and rehabilitate his own image. Comey is a liar and a leaker, and his misconduct led both Republicans and Democrats to call for his firing,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. “If Comey wants the spotlight back on him, we’ll make sure the American people understand why he has no one but himself to blame for his complete lack of credibility.” 
 
 The plan includes a newly launched website named “lyincomey.com” – which currently consists of mostly a collection of Democrats saying Comey behaved inappropriately and news coverage of contradictions in his testimony and actions. 
 
 It will be updated as Comey’s book and interviews roll out, according to an RNC official. 
 
 The RNC has been preparing the plan for the past week and while the White House has no plan to respond specifically, they did sign off on the Republican response effort, according to a source familiar with the discussions. 
 
 The details of the response effort were first reported by CNN. 
 
 Comey has been a thorn in Trump’s side since his firing last year and has remained vocal on Twitter ever since. The president has often taken to Twitter to attack Comey as a liar and a leaker. 
 
 In the wake of Comey’s firing, special counsel Robert Mueller’s team told the Justice Department to turn over any email and other documents related to, among other things, the May 9, 2017 firing of James Comey as FBI director. 
 
 The nature of the interactions and any alleged directives shared between the White House and the key Department of Justice officials before the Comey dismissal is a part of special counsel Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. 
 
 Trump has defended himself, saying he simply fired Comey “very simply” because “he wasn’t doing a good job.” ||||| Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump's allies are preparing an extensive campaign to fight back against James Comey's publicity tour, trying to undermine the credibility of the former FBI director by reviving the blistering Democratic criticism of him before he was fired nearly a year ago. 
 
 The battle plan against Comey, obtained by CNN, calls for branding the nation's former top law enforcement official as "Lyin' Comey" through a website , digital advertising and talking points to be sent to Republicans across the country before his memoir is released next week. The White House signed off on the plan, which is being overseen by the Republican National Committee. 
 
 "Comey is a liar and a leaker and his misconduct led both Republicans and Democrats to call for his firing," Republican chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement to CNN. "If Comey wants the spotlight back on him, we'll make sure the American people understand why he has no one but himself to blame for his complete lack of credibility." 
 
 While it's an open question how successful Republicans will be in making their case against Comey, given that Trump unceremoniously dismissed him last May 9, there is no doubt that many Democrats remain furious at how the former FBI director treated Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign. 
 
 Republicans hope to remind Democrats why they disliked Comey by assailing his credibility, shining a new light on his conduct and pointing out his contradictions -- or the three Cs. 
 
 An old quotation from Clinton is prominently displayed on the "Lyin'Comey" website, with Trump's former Democratic rival saying that Comey "badly overstepped his bounds." 
 
 Comey's media blitz 
 
 The Comey memoir, "A Higher Loyalty," is set to be released next Tuesday. His media blitz begins Sunday evening in an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, who says Comey compared Trump to a " mob boss ." 
 
 The President's firing of Comey set into motion a cascading series of events that continue to complicate and cloud the Trump presidency. The Justice Department appointed Robert Mueller as special counsel in the Russia probe after it was revealed that Trump had asked Comey to drop the investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn. 
 
 The White House is bracing for Comey to share his story, with aides fearful of how the President will react and how it could influence the escalating Mueller investigation. The well-orchestrated RNC strategy could, of course, be upended by the President himself through a tweet or off-the-cuff comments about Comey. 
 
 The exhaustive plan to attack Comey illustrates how seriously Trump's allies are taking the memoir and a round of television interviews Comey is set to give, including on CNN starting next week followed by a town hall April 25. 
 
 The Republican plan against Comey is built around several aggressive arguments, according to the plan obtained by CNN, including these: 
 
 1) "Comey has a long history of misstatements and misconduct," including damage caused to the FBI because of "bizarre decisions, contradictory statements and acting against Department of Justice and FBI protocol." 
 
 2) "Attempts to smear the Trump administration are nothing more than retaliation by a disgraced former official." 
 
 3) "Comey isn't credible -- just ask Democrats." The digital ads will show several Democrats calling for Comey's resignation after he injected himself into the 2016 presidential race, including House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who is shown saying: "All I can tell you is the FBI Director has no credibility." 
 
 A image taken from a video that the GOP posted to Youtube. 
 
 Political contradictions 
 
 The political contradictions surrounding Comey are underscored by how such a central part of the Republican plan is built around reminding Americans of how Democrats had disdain for him, particularly those from the Clinton campaign. Republicans will argue that Comey "repeatedly usurped" the authority of then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch and violated protocol by "publicly acknowledging the existence of ongoing FBI investigations." 
 
 The Republican plan also takes a closer look at Comey's appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee last June, when he testified that the President had asked him to stop investigating Flynn. That contradicted a remark he made earlier when testifying that the President did not ask him to stop an investigation for political reasons. 
 
 For Comey, who once enjoyed wide bipartisan support in Washington, the book tour comes with high stakes. A former deputy attorney general in the George W. Bush administration, he was appointed by President Barack Obama to lead the FBI in 2013. 
 
 Since Trump dismissed Comey during the fourth year of a 10-year term he has remained largely silent, with the exception of testifying last summer on Capitol Hill and a handful of searing tweets aimed at the President. The memoir's release is the first major opportunity for Comey to speak aloud -- and be subjected to questions -- about his interaction with Trump before being fired. 
 
 "Mr. President, the American people will hear my story very soon," Comey wrote last month on Twitter. "And they can judge for themselves who is honorable and who is not." 
 
 The RNC plan, which was approved by the White House, attempts to portray Comey as a man simply out for himself. 
 
 "James Comey's publicity tour is a self-serving attempt to make money and rehabilitate his own image," said McDaniel, the RNC chairwoman. ||||| Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel blasted former FBI Director James Comey for arrogance in his Senate testimony on Thursday. 
 
 “Nobody thinks more of James Comey than James Comey, and his testimony was simply a last ditch attempt to save face with the American people,” she said in a statement. 
 
 Romney McDaniel added that Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee earlier in the day cleared President Trump of any wrongdoing in probes of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. 
 
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 “Today’s testimony proved what we have known all along: President Trump is not under investigation, there’s still no evidence of collusion, and he did not hinder the investigations in any way," she said. Trump's personal attorney Marc Kasowitz made similar statements on Thursday, claiming the testimony vindicated the president while also blasting Comey over parts of his testimony. 
 
 Comey earlier Thursday accused Trump’s administration of defaming him and “telling lies.” He spoke to the Senate committee during one of the most hotly anticipated testimonies in recent political history. 
 
 “The administration chose to defame me and, more importantly, the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray, that it was poorly run,” Comey said. “Those were lies, plain and simple.” 
 
 Comey added that he was “confused” by Trump’s abrupt firing of him last month as the president had frequently praised his performance. 
 
 “He told me repeatedly that he had talked to lots of people about me, including the attorney general, and had learned that I was doing a great job and was extremely well-liked by FBI workforce," Comey said. 
 
 White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday that Trump “is not a liar” following Comey’s testimony. 
 
 Trump fired Comey last month amid the FBI’s probe of Russian interference in the 2016 race, which included investigation into possible collusion between Moscow and the president’s election campaign. 
 
 The Justice Department last month appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel of the federal probe into the matter. ||||| White House press secretary Sean Spicer gets a note from a staff member during the daily press briefing at the White House, Tuesday, June 6, 2017, in Washington. Spicer discussed Trump's tweets, former... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — With fired FBI Director James Comey's highly anticipated congressional testimony just a day away, the White House and its allies are scrambling for ways to offset potential damage. 
 
 Asked Tuesday about the testimony, President Donald Trump was tight-lipped: "I wish him luck," he told reporters. 
 
 Comey's testimony Thursday before the Senate intelligence committee could expose new details regarding his discussions with Trump about the federal investigation into Russia's election meddling. 
 
 Comey could also bring up other aspects of his dealings with the Trump administration. On Tuesday evening a person familiar with the situation said Comey had told Attorney General Jeff Sessions that he did not want to be left alone with Trump. 
 
 The person, who was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press the comment was made because of concerns Comey had about Trump. 
 
 It was not immediately clear when the conversation occurred. But The New York Times, which first reported the interaction with Sessions, said it came after Trump had asked Comey in February to end an FBI investigation into Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn. 
 
 Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior declined to comment. He said Sessions "doesn't believe it's appropriate to respond to media inquiries on matters that may be related to ongoing investigations." 
 
 Trump's White House and its allies are crafting a strategy aimed at undermining Comey's credibility. Both White House officials and an outside group that backs Trump plan to hammer Comey in the coming days for misstatements he made about Democrat Hillary Clinton's emails during his last appearance on Capitol Hill. 
 
 An ad created by the pro-Trump Great America Alliance — a nonprofit "issues" group that isn't required to disclose its donors — casts Comey as a "showboat" who was "consumed with election meddling" instead of focusing on combating terrorism. The 30-second spot is slated to run digitally on Wednesday and appear the next day on CNN and Fox News. 
 
 The Republican National Committee has been preparing talking points ahead of the hearing, which will be aired live on multiple TV outlets. An RNC research email Monday issued a challenge to the lawmakers who will question Comey. There's bipartisan agreement, the email says, that Comey "needs to answer a simple question about his conversations with President Trump: If you were so concerned, why didn't you act on it or notify Congress?" 
 
 Comey's testimony marks his first public comments since he was abruptly ousted by Trump on May 9. Since then, Trump and Comey allies have traded competing narratives about their interactions. The president asserted that Comey told him three times that he was not personally under investigation, while the former director's associates allege Trump asked Comey if he could back off an investigation into Michael Flynn, who was fired as national security adviser because he misled the White House about his ties to Russia. 
 
 Democrats have accused Trump of firing Comey to upend the FBI's Russia probe, which focused in large part on whether campaign aides coordinated with Moscow to hack Democratic groups during the election. Days after Comey's firing, the Justice Department appointed a special counsel, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, to oversee the federal investigation. 
 
 The new revelation about Comey's uneasiness with Trump brings to mind a posting last month by Comey friend Benjamin Wittes on his Lawfare blog, in which he said Comey "saw it as an ongoing task on his part to protect the rest of the Bureau from improper contacts and interferences from a group of people he did not regard as honorable." 
 
 Despite the mounting legal questions now shadowing the White House, Trump has needled Comey publicly. In a tweet days after the firing, he appeared to warn Comey that he might have recordings of their private discussions, something the White House has neither confirmed nor denied. 
 
 White House officials appear eager to keep the president away from television and Twitter Thursday, though those efforts rarely succeed. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the president plans to attend an infrastructure summit in the morning, then address the Faith and Freedom Coalition's "Road to Majority" conference at 12:30 p.m. 
 
 "The president's got a full day on Thursday," Spicer said. 
 
 The White House had hoped to set up a "war room" stocked with Trump allies and top-flight lawyers to combat questions about the FBI and congressional investigations into possible ties between the campaign and Russia. However, that effort has largely stalled, both because of a lack of decision-making in the West Wing and concerns among some potential recruits about joining a White House under the cloud of investigation. 
 
 "If there isn't a strategy, a coherent, effective one, this is really going to put us all behind the eight ball. We need to start fighting back. And so far, I don't see a lot of fight," said Barry Bennett, a former Trump campaign aide. 
 
 Still, Trump supporters say they are willing to step in to help the White House deflect any accusations from Comey. 
 
 "If we feel he crosses a line, we'll fire back," said Ed Rollins, chief strategist of Great America PAC, the political arm of the group airing the Comey ad. 
 
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 Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report. 
 
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 Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Julie Bykowicz at http://twitter.com/bykowicz
– James Comey has a book coming out and an accompanying "media blitz" starting Sunday—and the Republican National Committee, in turn, has its own plan to discredit the fired former FBI director, according to CNN and ABC News, which have obtained copies of talking points the RNC prepared to distribute to "surrogates and allies" of President Trump. The talking points call Comey's credibility into question by focusing on what the RNC calls his "long history of misstatements and misconduct." ABC calls the RNC's plan "aggressive" and CNN calls it "extensive," noting that the RNC is also setting up a war room to track Comey's media appearances and respond in real time. There's even an accompanying website, lyincomey.com, which will be updated as Comey's media tour continues and his book is released. Digital ads will also be rolled out. "James Comey’s publicity tour is a self-serving attempt to make money and rehabilitate his own image. Comey is a liar and a leaker, and his misconduct led both Republicans and Democrats to call for his firing," RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel says in a statement. "If Comey wants the spotlight back on him, we’ll make sure the American people understand why he has no one but himself to blame for his complete lack of credibility." A source says the White House has signed off on the plan, though it is not plotting its own specific response to Comey, and sources add that aides are concerned about how Comey's media tour might influence Robert Mueller's investigation. But sources tell CNN the White House is preparing its own talking points aimed at discrediting Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, painting him as too conflicted to objectively oversee the Russia investigation.