| | | | Comey says Trump asked him to let Flynn probe go | | Fired FBI Director James Comey aimed a dagger blow at Donald Trump today, saying the President had demanded his loyalty, pressed him to drop a probe into ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn and repeatedly pressured him to publicly declare that he was not under investigation, CNN's Stephen Collinson, Jeremy Herb and Tom LoBianco report.
What happened: Comey magnified the political crisis engulfing the White House by releasing his opening statement ahead of a blockbuster appearance on Capitol Hill on Thursday. The document sketched a stunningly detailed account of Comey's intimate meetings with the President, included direct quotes from Trump and revealed the former FBI chief's discomfort with the President's behavior.
Why it matters: The prepared testimony appeared to bolster the case of Trump critics who believe that the President may have obstructed justice and abused his power in his dealings with Comey, whom he later fired.
If you read just one paragraph of Comey's testimony, make it this one: "The President then returned to the topic of Mike Flynn, saying, 'He is a good guy and has been through a lot.' He repeated that Flynn hadn't done anything wrong on his calls with the Russians, but had misled the Vice President. 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.' I replied only that 'he is a good guy.' (In fact, I had a positive experience dealing with Mike Flynn when he was a colleague as Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency at the beginning of my term at FBI.) I did not say I would 'let this go.'" Read more of Comey's prepared testimony here.
Of course ... Comey will say more in his public testimony Thursday -- which the entire political world will be watching.
Response from Michael Cohen, Trump's personal lawyer: "Comey's statement released today needs to be carefully scrutinized as his testimony claims the president was concerned about the dossier. It must be noted that the dossier has been debunked even by the author himself, Christopher Steele."
Note: Cohen's claim that the dossier has been debunked is false. | | "I need loyalty. I expect loyalty." -- According to former FBI director James Comey's prepared testimony, this is what President Donald Trump told him at their dinner in January. | | | | Flashback: In light of former FBI Director James Comey's testimony, this moment between him and President Donald Trump has resurfaced on social media. Although he doesn't directly talk about it in his testimony, his friend Benjamn Wittes, who runs a blog called Lawfare and describes himself as a Comey confidant, shared how he felt about this awkward handshake. "(Comey) regarded the episode as a physical attempt to show closeness and warmth in a fashion calculated to compromise him before Democrats who already mistrusted him," Wittles said in May. | | Intelligence chiefs won't say whether Trump asked them to downplay Russia probe | | From CNN's Tom LoBianco: Two US intelligence agency chiefs refused to say on the record if President Donald Trump asked them to downplay investigations into whether there was collusion between Russia and Trump's presidential campaign last year.
When asked by Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, "Are prepared to say you have never been asked?" Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and National Security Agency Director Adm. Mike Rogers declined to answer. "I am not prepared to go down that road right now," Coats said. Rogers referred to earlier statements he made saying he wouldn't comment on conversations with the President.
Democrats were furious with their evasive answers. Check out this exchange, highlighted by CNN's Jeremy Herb, between Coats and New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich:
Heinrich: "Director Coats, you've said as well that it would be inappropriate to answer a simple question about whether the President asked for your assistance in blunting the Russian investigation. I don't care how you felt. I'm not asking whether you felt pressured. I'm simply asking did that conversation occur?"
Coats: "And once again, senator, I will say that I do believe it's inappropriate for me to discuss that in an open session."
... And then Sen. Angus King of Maine, with Rogers:
King: "Why are you not answering the questions? Is there an invocation of executive privilege?"
Rogers: "Not that I'm aware of -- because I feel it's inappropriate."
King: "What you feel isn't relevant, admiral. The question is why are you not answering the question?" | | | Senate intelligence committee Chairman Richard Burr shut down a line of questioning from California Sen. Kamala Harris at Wednesday's high-profile hearing, admonishing her and other Democrats to stop cutting off witnesses. It led to this Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweet. | | 3 things you might have missed today | | Trump admin looks at 71 airports for potential electronics ban: The Trump administration is looking at 71 more airports for a potential large electronics ban -- but the government is prepared to offer those countries alternatives before a ban is put in place, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said. More from CNN's Tal Kopan.
Accused leaker Reality Winner is scared after arrest, mom says: "She said ... she was very scared," her mother, Billie Winner-Davis, told CNN. "They took her by surprise. She was not expecting any of this." The 25-year-old federal contractor stands charged with leaking classified information to a media outlet. She faces up to 10 years in prison. More from CNN's Madison Park.
Eric Trump says Democrats in Washington are "not even people": President Donald Trump's son Eric Trump said Democrats who support the probe into his father's campaign and Russia are "not even people" and he has "never seen hatred like this." He also shared harsh criticism of the Democratic Party as a whole. More from CNN's Sophie Tatum. | | | President Donald Trump's approval rating is at 34%, a new Quinnipiac poll finds, a slight dip from the last time the university surveyed the President's popularity. ... China is likely to build more foreign military bases and continue boosting defense spending in the coming years, according to a new annual Pentagon report on Chinese military and security developments. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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