Comey testimony as it happened: Trump's lawyer hits back at fired FBI director and says he could be investigated
The Independent will be covering his testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee live
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Your support makes all the difference.Former FBI Director James Comey is due to give evidence to the Senate Intelligence Committee about conversations he had with President Donald Trump and whether the former businessman pressured him to drop an investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.
The committee has already released his prepared opening statement in which he will confirm under oath that Mr Trump tried to get him to drop the probe into whether General Flynn, who was forced to resign two weeks after the inauguration, had met with Russian officials during the campaign to discuss economic sanctions imposed by Barack Obama.
He will also testify about a pair of phone calls with Mr Trump where he had reportedly complained to him about the FBI's investigation into his campaign team's links with Russia, calling it a "cloud" looming over the presidency and reportedly urged mr comey to state publicly that the President himself was not under investigation.
Follow our liveblog below the video:
James Lankford of Oklahoma asks: “Is there any question that the president is not real fond of the investigation? He tweets about it. So why was Mr Comey worried about telling FBI agents that Mr Trump asked him to shelf it?"
Mr Comey: “I think there’s a big difference in kicking superior officers out of the Oval Office, looking the FBI director in the eye and saying I hope we can let this go. ...there’s a real chilling effect.”
Do you believe Donald Trump colluded with Russia?
Mr Comey: “That’s a question I don’t think I should answer in an open setting.”
Republican Senator Tom Cotton tries to knock down the thought of collusion and Comey replies:
“I just don’t want to go down that path because I’m not in the government anymore... I’m not trying to suggest by my answer something nefarious.”
Mr Comey says he did not write a letter of resignation in the latest tangle with Trump – though he had written a letter of resignation when he was in the George Bush justice department over qualms about government surveillance.
Democrat Kamala Harris has just compared Mr Trump to a robber holding a gun to Mr Comey's head and demanding his wallet.
Compare that to the exchange with Mr Cotton and that appears to sim up the difference between the Republican and Democrat style of questioning.
Ms Harris asks Comey if he knows of any meetings between Trump campaign people and Russians that have not been acknowledged?
Mr Comey: "Can’t talk about that here."
Ms Harris asks a few similar questions with the same answer from Comey.
She then moves onto Jeff Sessions. Mr Comey says he is not sure if Mr Sessions had reviewed any documents about the investigation before he recused himself.
Republican John Cornyn of Texas: "If you’re trying to make an investigation go away, is firing an FBI director a good way to make that happen?"
Mr Comey: “It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, but obviously I’m hopelessly biased, given that I was the one fired.”
Mr Cornyn: "Nothing that’s happened has impeded the investigation of the FBI?"
Mr Comey: "Correct. Especially the appointment of former director [Robert] Mueller [as Special Counsel] is a critical part of that equation."
Now we are back on the subject of Hillary Clinton's emails.
Mr Comey says that he he didn't ask about appointing a Special Counsel in that investigation as it would give the sense there might be something there when the issue had already been fully investigated
Meanwhile at the White House Sarah Huckabee Sanders is holding an off-camera briefing
She says she has "no idea" if White House conversations are taped - but does say when asked if she would look into whether there is a taping system in the Oval office, she says this:
Ms Huckabee Sanders also says that Mr Trump is DEFINITELY "not a liar"
Back to Mr Comey, he has now set out his reasons why he believes he was fired - emphasis in brackets is mine.
“It’s my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation... the endeavour was to change the way the Russia investigation was being conducted. That is a very big deal, not just because it’s me...” but because of the crucial independent nature of FBI investigations.
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