Comey testimony as it happened: Trump's lawyer hits back at fired FBI director and says he could be investigated
The Independent will be covering his testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee live
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Your support makes all the difference.Former FBI Director James Comey is due to give evidence to the Senate Intelligence Committee about conversations he had with President Donald Trump and whether the former businessman pressured him to drop an investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.
The committee has already released his prepared opening statement in which he will confirm under oath that Mr Trump tried to get him to drop the probe into whether General Flynn, who was forced to resign two weeks after the inauguration, had met with Russian officials during the campaign to discuss economic sanctions imposed by Barack Obama.
He will also testify about a pair of phone calls with Mr Trump where he had reportedly complained to him about the FBI's investigation into his campaign team's links with Russia, calling it a "cloud" looming over the presidency and reportedly urged mr comey to state publicly that the President himself was not under investigation.
Follow our liveblog below the video:
Mr Burr is asking about the so-called Steele dossier, an intelligence file on Trump produced by a former British intelligence officer.
Comey is asked whether the FBI confirmed any criminal allegations in the dossier. He declines to comment in an open setting.
Mr Burr is back to Comey’s decision to talk about Ms Clinton’s emails.
Mr Comey says he was “confused and concerned” that attorney general Loretta Lynch directed Mr Comey to call the Clinton email affair not an investigation but a “matter.” That was “one of the bricks in the load” that convinced him to act unilaterally, he said.
Regarding the memos about interactions with Mr Trump, Mr Comey said that he knew that there would come a day that I would need a record of what happened to not only defend myself, but also the integrity of the FBI
Concern appears to be a major factor of Mr Comey's testimoney - here is one of our early stories:
Talking about his interactions with Mr Trump - Mr Comey makes the pont that he didn't feel the need to keep notes when meeting with former Presidents Barack Obama or George W Bush.
"I interacted with president Obama. I spoke only twice in three years and didn’t document it... I had one one-on-one meeting with President Bush... but I didn’t feel with president Bush the need to document it in that way.”
Mr Comey obviously feels strongly about the actions of Mr Trump and his public comments trashing his reputation.
Mr Comey said the president was wrong to denigrate the agency and its leadership after his firing.
“The [White House] then chose to defame me and more importantly the FBI....
“Those were lies, plane and simple.”
Speaking about his dinner with President Trump, Mr Comey said that it seemed like “an effort was to build a relationship. He asked for loyalty in the context of asking me to stay".
Mr Trump had already asked him three times to stay on as FBI director, Mr Comey said. It seemed like he was looking to get something out of granting my request to stay in the job, he added.
California Democrat Dianne Feinstein asks Mr Comey whether the Russia investigation figured into his firing, in his opinion.
Mr Comey: “Yes, because I’ve seen the president say so.”
Republican senator Jim Risch had previously pointed out that Mr Trump’s words on the investigation into Michael Flynn “I hope you can let this go” are not the same as ordering Mr Comey to drop an investigation.
Mr Comey: “I took it as a direction. I took it as that’s what he wants me to do.”
Mr Risch: "You don’t know anyone for being charged for saying ‘I hope’, do you?"
Mr Comey: "Not as I sit here."
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