| | | | James Comey expected to refute Trump on Capitol Hill | | From CNN's Gloria Borger, Eric Lichtblau, Jake Tapper and Brian Rokus: In his much-anticipated congressional testimony on Thursday, fired FBI Director James Comey will dispute President Donald Trump's blanket claim that he was told he was not under investigation multiple times, according to sources familiar with Comey's thinking. Rather, one source said that Comey is expected to tell senators that he never assured Trump he was not under investigation, because such assurances would have been improper. Another source hinted that the President may have misunderstood the exact meaning of Comey's words, especially regarding the FBI's ongoing counterintelligence investigation.
In addition, one source familiar with Comey's testimony says that Comey is not going to conclude whether the President obstructed justice regarding the agency's Russia investigation, according to a source with knowledge. Rather, this source says, Comey plans to present himself as a "fact witness" by simply describing the interactions with the President on multiple occasions that made him uneasy enough to memorialize their conversations. He "will leave the legal analysis for others," a source tells CNN.
While Comey is anxious to recount his version of his conversations with the President, he also appears likely to sidestep questions about how he felt about Trump's comments -- for instance, whether he felt pressured to drop the investigation or whether he thought they amounted to obstruction, another source said. Comey believes that his own feelings about the President's comments are largely "irrelevant," the source said, and that his account of what happened is the central issue. What matters in considering possible obstruction of justice, this source added, is the President's intent, not how Comey felt about it. | | US suspects Russian hackers planted fake news behind Qatar crisis | | A scoop from CNN's Evan Perez and Shimon Prokupecz: US investigators believe Russian hackers breached Qatar's state news agency and planted a fake news report that contributed to a crisis among the United States' closest Gulf allies, according to US officials briefed on the investigation. The FBI recently sent a team of investigators to Doha to help the Qatari government investigate the alleged hacking incident, Qatari and US government officials said. Intelligence gathered by the US security agencies indicates that Russian hackers were behind the intrusion first reported by the Qatari government two weeks ago, US officials said. Qatar hosts one of the largest US military bases in the region.
The alleged involvement of Russian hackers intensifies concerns by US intelligence and law enforcement agencies that Russia continues to try some of the same cyberhacking measures on US allies that intelligence agencies believe it used to meddle in the 2016 elections. US officials said the Russian goal appears to be to cause rifts among the United States and its allies.
Speaking of ... check out Trump's tweets today: | | President Donald Trump appeared to take credit for the decision of major Gulf nations to cut diplomatic relations with Qatar, an important US ally.
Why this matters: Qatar is host to one of the United States' largest military bases in the Middle East, and a linchpin in the campaign against ISIS.
Pentagon officials moved quickly to limit any damage Trump caused, with spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis telling reporters the United States is "grateful to the Qataris for the longstanding support for our presence and their enduring commitment to regional security." He added that the United States has "no plans to change our posture in Qatar," stressed that there has been no impact on military operations and urged all parties to work together to resolve the crisis. Read more from CNN's Nicole Gaouette and Barbara Starr. | | "Jared has actually become much more famous than me. I'm a little upset about that." | | | Does Trump have confidence in AG Jeff Sessions? His White House won't say. | | From CNN's Jeremy Diamond: White House press secretary Sean Spicer today declined to say whether President Donald Trump has confidence in Attorney General Jeff Sessions. "I have not had a discussion with him about that," Spicer said as sources said Trump is still fuming over Sessions' recusal from the federal investigation into potential ties between Trump campaign associates and Russia.
Pressed repeatedly on the topic, Spicer said he simply had not talked to Trump about the matter and added: "If I have not had a discussion with him about a subject I tend not to speak about it."
Why we're talking about this: The New York Times' Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman broke the news last night that Trump is fuming at Sessions -- still -- over Sessions' decision to recuse himself in the Russia investigation. Tonight, ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports that Sessions recently offered to resign. Trump has in recent days been tweeting criticism of the Justice Department's tactics in defending what Trump calls his "travel ban." | | | Democrat Jon Ossoff is debating Republican Karen Handel for the first time tonight in the closely watched -- and extraordinarily expensive -- special election for Georgia's 6th District House seat. Here's how the GOP super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund is trolling Ossoff. | | 2 things you might have missed today | | Christie says Trump tweeting sometimes "hasn't been for his best interest": New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told reporters in Mendham Township, New Jersey, that he's been upfront with Trump about how he feels about the President using social media. More from Daniella.
Flynn turns over 600 pages of documents to Senate intel: Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn handed over more than 600 pages of documents to the Senate intelligence committee, according to a source familiar with the matter. The source said the documents are mostly business records, but they also include some personal documents "based on the narrowed requests from the committee." More from CNN's Manu Raju and Jeremy Herb. | | | Sen. Dianne Feinstein's rise: How one badass woman fought to keep going. ... President Donald Trump wishes former FBI Director James Comey luck ahead of his Thursday testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee. ... Education Secretary Betsy DeVos indicated discrimination in schools on the basis of sexual orientation is "unsettled" law and a matter for Congress and the courts to address -- not her department. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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