James Comey releases statement ahead of Senate Intel panel hearing

A statement of record from fired FBI Director James Comey was released by the Senate intelligence committee, the day before he is scheduled to testify in front of the panel.

Thursday morning’s testimony from Comey, who was fired by President Donald Trump on May 9, has been highly anticipated as lawmakers search for answers in the investigation into alleged Russian election meddling and possible collusion by the Trump campaign.

The statement describes a dinner Comey had with the president on January 27 in which Trump said “I need loyalty, I expect loyalty,” according to the former director.

Also discussed:

• A February 14 meeting in which the president said “I want to talk about Michael Flynn” and made “a long series of comments about the problem with leaks of classified information.” The pair agreed that Flynn, the former national security adviser, was a “good guy,” but Comey did not agree to the request from Trump that “I hope you can let this go,” referring to Flynn’s contact with Russian officials during the transition.
• A March 30 phone call in which the president called the Russia investigation “‘a cloud’ that was impairing his ability to act on behalf of the country.”
• An April 11 phone call in which the president requested that Comey “get out” that Trump was not personally under investigation.”

Read the full statement: