Intelligence chiefs avoid Trump-Russia questions
“He then said, ‘I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go,’” Comey says, according to the prepared remarks.
“I replied only that ‘he is a good guy.’ ”
Comey’s testimony was released by the Senate intelligence committee hours after lawmakers sparred with top intelligence chiefs who refused to answer the panel’s questions about conversations they had with Trump regarding the Russia probe.
Intelligence committee members wanted to know about news reports claiming Trump asked Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Adm. Mike Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency, to publicly state there was no evidence of collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign.
“I’ve never felt pressure to intervene or interfere in any way and shape — with shaping intelligence in a political way, or in relationship to an ongoing investigation,” Coats said.
Trump allies have sought to undermine Comey’s credibility ahead of his testimony, noting the FBI had to correct some of his remarks from his last appearance on Capitol Hill. They’ve also questioned why Comey did not raise his concerns about Trump publicly or resign.
Among the encounters Comey describes is a Jan. 27 dinner at the White House that he viewed as an attempt by the president to “create some sort of patronage relationship.”
Comey says Trump asked if he wanted to remain as FBI director and declared: “I need loyalty. I expect loyalty.” Comey says he replied he could offer his honesty, and when Trump said he wanted “honest loyalty,” Comey paused and said, “You will get that from me.”
In March, after Comey publicly revealed the existence of a federal counterintelligence investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, Trump complained the probe left a “cloud” that was “impairing his ability to act on behalf of the country.”
It was during that conversation that Comey said the president asked him what could be done to “lift the cloud” of investigation damaging his administration.
Comey said Trump also said “he had nothing to do with Russia, had not been involved with hookers in Russia, and had always assumed he was being recorded when in Russia” — referencing an unverified intelligence dossier detailing compromising information Moscow allegedly collected on the president.
Earlier Wednesday, Trump announced he planned to nominate Christopher Wray, a former Justice Department official, as Comey’s successor. FBI directors are nominated for 10-year terms.