6 Bombshell Revelations From James Comey’s Senate Remarks
Less than one day before he is set to testify in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, James Comey’s full prepared remarks were released by the Senate committee. Comey’s remarks include several explosive revelations.
Comey’s testimony also contradicts Donald Trump’s previous statements about the Russia investigation and his interactions with James Comey.
The Comey remarks help to build the case for obstruction of justice by Donald Trump.
During the prepared remarks, Comey details at least nine private encounters with Donald Trump.
Here are the 6 bombshell revelations we learned:
1. Donald Trump demanded loyalty from James Comey
One of the biggest revelations in the Comey testimony is the confirmation that Donald Trump demanded loyalty from the FBI Director. Only a few days after Trump took office he invited James Comey to a dinner at the White House. Trump originally said the dinner would be with their families but then changed it to be one-on-one.
During the dinner, Trump asked Comey if he wanted to keep his job as FBI Director. “My instincts told me that the one-on-one setting, and the pretense that this was our first discussion about my position, meant the dinner was, at least in part, an effort to have me ask for my job and create some sort of patronage relationship,” Comey wrote.
Trump later explicitly asked Comey for his loyalty. According to Comey’s testimony, “The President said, ‘I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.'” Comey explained the importance of independence and said, “‘You will always get honesty from me.'” Trump replied, “That’s what I want, honest loyalty.” Comey said ‘You will get that from me.'”
2.Donald Trump pressured Comey to drop the Flynn investigation
The day after Michael Flynn was forced to resign, after it was revealed that he had lied about his conversations with the Russians, Donald Trump had another encounter with James Comey.
The meeting was in the Oval Office with several senior officials. At the end of the meeting, Comey testifies that Donald Trump asked him to remain in the Oval Office and excused the other officials.
“I want to talk about Mike Flynn.” According to Comey, “the President began by saying Flynn hadn’t done anything wrong in speaking with the Russians, but he had to let him go because he had misled the Vice President.”
Mike Flynn, Trump told Comey, is “a good guy and has been through a lot.” Trump then told the FBI director that “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 did not say he would let Flynn go, documented the conversation in a memo, and discussed the conversation with FBI leadership.
3. James Comey had 9 private communications with Donald Trump in just 4 months
Comey’s testimony notes just how unusual it was for Donald Trump to create so many private encounters between himself and the FBI Director.
“I spoke alone with President Obama twice in person (and never on the phone) — once in 2015 to discuss law enforcement policy issues and a second time, briefly, for him to say goodbye in late 2016,” Comey writes.
Comey went on to say, “In neither of those circumstances did I memorialize the discussions. I can recall nine one-on-one conversations with President Trump in four months – three in person and six on the phone.”
4. Trump admitted that some of his associates could have been involved with Russia
Trump has continually insisted that he has no involvement with Russia. However, in a bombshell detail from Comey’s prepared remarks, Trump addmitted to the FBI Director that some of his associates could have done something wrong with Russia.
”The President went on to say that if there were some ‘satellite’ associates of his who did something wrong, it would be good to find that out, but that he hadn’t done anything wrong and hoped I would find a way to get it out that we weren’t investigating him,” Comey wrote.
5. James Comey did not want to be alone with Donald Trump
After the February 14 meeting where Donald Trump pressured Comey to drop the investigation into Flynn, Comey told Attorney General Jeff Sessions that he did not want to be left alone again with Trump.
“I took the opportunity to implore the Attorney General to prevent any future direct communication between the President and me. I told the AG that what had just happened — him being asked to leave while the FBI Director, who reports to the AG, remained behind — was inappropriate and should never happen. He did not reply,” Comey writes.
6. Trump pressured Comey to tell the public he wasn’t under investigation
Comey’s testimony reveals that on multiple occasions Donald Trump pressured him to publically state that he wasn’t under investigation. During a March 30 phone call with Comey, Trump “described the Russia investigation as ‘a cloud’ that was impairing his ability to act on behalf of the country.”
Trump then said that “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.”
That’s when Trump asked the FBI director, “what we could do to ‘lift the cloud.’”
During an April 11 call, “the President called me and asked what I had done about his request that I ‘get out’ that he is not personally under investigation,” Comey writes. Comey urged Trump to have the White House Counsel “contact the leadership of DOJ to make the request, which was the traditional channel.”
Trump then said to Comey, “I have been very loyal to you, very loyal; we had that thing you know,” according to his prepared remarks.
