Comey testimony set for Thursday

Ex-FBI director expected to detail talks with Trump

USA TODAY WASHINGTON Former FBI Director James Comey will testify publicly Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of its investigation into Russia’s interference in the presidential election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the panel’s senior Democrat, announced Thursday that Comey will testify at 10a.m. June8. Comey’s public testimony will be followed by a closed session at 1 p.m. so he may answer questions that involve classified information.

Comey is expected to testify about his conversations with President Donald Trump, including about allegations that Trump asked him to back off the FBI’s investigation of Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser. Trump abruptly fired Comey last month as Comey was leading that investigation.

Trump fired Flynn in February amid questions about whether he inappropriately talked about U.S. sanctions against Russia with a Russian official and then misled then-Vice Presidentelect Mike Pence about those talks. The House and Senate Intelligence committees both have issued subpoenas for Flynn’s testimony and documents from his businesses.

Comey’s much-anticipated testimony is expected to be explosive and could do major damage to a White House already shaken by five investigations into possible collusion between Trump’s campaign aides and Russian officials. In addition to the Senate and House intelligence committees, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee also have launched probes.

The FBI investigation that Comey was leading has been taken over by former FBI Director Robert Mueller, who was appointed as special counsel last month by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Comey talked with Mueller to ensure that his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee next week won’t interfere with Mueller’s broader investigation.

Trump has repeatedly denied there was any collusion and has dismissed the investigations as a “witch hunt.”