Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Former FBI Director James Comey will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday in relation to their investigation into possible connections between the Kremlin and President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
In prepared remarks released Wednesday, Comey described a series of uncomfortable interactions with Trump, in which he said the president requested his loyalty and pressed him to stop pursuing the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
The allegations in Comey’s statement have been directly contradicted by the White House in the past. On May 12, press secretary Sean Spicer rejected the notion that Trump ever asked Comey to pledge loyalty, and on May 18 Trump himself said he never urged Comey to back off the investigation into Flynn.
Trump fired Comey from his position as FBI director in early May after receiving letters recommending he do so from Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
Sources told ABC News that the firing came as a surprise to Comey, which is part of the story he plans to tell Thursday before the committee. As one source said, he was “angry” and wants the public to know why.
ABC News reported earlier this week that Comey’s congressional testimony would make the White House uncomfortable, but that Comey won’t say the president directly interfered in the FBI’s probe into Flynn.
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