Comey’s hearing turns into political Super Bowl for US
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump is expected to live tweet it, and some betting sites are taking bets on words that he could use. And some bars in Washington are opening early on Thursday to provide patrons a big-game atmosphere with Russian vodka mixes and “FBI sandwiches”.
Sacked FBI director James Comey starts his testimony at an open hearing of the US senate intelligence committee at 10 am that day, which is being called the super bowl of US politics, a nod to the festival-scale celebration of the championship game of the National Football League.
Expectations are rising about the questioning by the panel chaired by Richard Burr, a Republican senator who has struck a smooth working relationship with top Democrat Mark Warner. Republican John McCain, an outspoken critic of the president, is also joining the committee for the hearing despite the fact he is not a member.
“Come on... you know you want to watch the drama unfold this Thursday,” Shaw’s Tavern, a Washington bar, posted on Facebook. It will open 30 minutes before the hearing starts and will serve “$5 Stoli (Russian Stolich- naya) vodka flavours” and FBI — fried chicken breasts, bacon and iceberg lettuce — sandwiches.
The Partisan, another bar in Washington, will also open early for a “Comey hearing viewing party” and will have its “TVs tuned into the hearing and sound on full blast”.
Comey will answer questions about his conversations with Trump, centred on the FBI’s investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 elections and alleged collusion by Trump aides.
Asked about the upcoming testimony, Trump told reporters on Tuesday, “I wish him good luck.” No more. But chances are he will be glued to a TV set — he is an avid consumer of cable news. He also has a speech scheduled for around noon, the announcement of which was almost immediately characterised as a ploy to divert viewers away from the hearing.