It’s a committee hearing that some in Washington are calling the Capitol Hill Super Bowl. What more will former FBI Director James B. Co…
Here’s our look at the Trump administration and the rest of Washington
It’s a committee hearing that some in Washington are calling the Capitol Hill Super Bowl.
What more will former FBI Director James B. Comey say about his interactions with President Trump? If he felt pressured by Trump to end an investigation into Russia, then why didn’ t he speak out?
These are some of the questions Comey will face Thursday when he appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee. It will be Comey’s first public appearance since Trump fired him last month. Since his dismissal, reports have surfaced that Comey felt Trump was interfering with his investigation into possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia during the 2016 election.
On Wednesday afternoon, the public received a glimpse of some of what Comey will touch on when seven pages of his prepared written testimony were posted on the Senate Intelligence Committee website.
“I need loyalty, I expect loyalty, ” Comey says the president told him during a one-on-one meeting in January.
Comey revealed that he told Trump — on several occasions — that the president was not personally under investigation. And it’s that point that conservative media are focusing on ahead of tomorrow’s hearing.
Here are some of this afternoon’s headlines:
In the weeks since he fired Comey, Trump has insisted the former FBI director told him that he’s not under any sort of investigation when it comes to a Russian probe surrounding the 2016 election. Trump’s used this defense when pushing back against questions about his potential ties to Russia.
This piece from Fox News — which led its website much of the afternoon — focuses on the portion of Comey’s prepared testimony that notes he informed Trump that he personally is not under investigation.
“The prepared remarks for his opening statement, released by the Senate Intelligence Committee, also make clear that Comey repeatedly assured Trump he was not personally under investigation, ” reports Fox News. The theme echoed through much of the afternoon on Fox News’ live broadcasts.
Ahead of Thursday’s much anticipated Comey hearing, Dan Coats, director of national intelligence, sat before lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Among the topics of discussion: Did he ever feel pressure from Trump when it came to the Russia probe?
This piece plays up that Coats said he did not feel pressure. However, Coats, when asked, did not deny a recent news report that Trump once asked him to halt the probe.
Meanwhile, this conservative website doesn’t even address the Comey news as of Wednesday afternoon.
Instead, Townhall focuses on Trump’s appointment of conservative judges to federal courts.
“With much of the media … fixated on Russia, Comey, and potential obstruction, other goings-on inside the Beltway are getting relatively scant attention, ” notes the website.
“The White House is ramping up its focus on rebuilding U. S. infrastructure (a common Trump campaign refrain) , Republican Senators may be forging ahead with some progress on desperately-needed reforms to Obamacare’s failing status quo, and the president has unveiled another substantial roster of nominees to fill federal court vacancies.”
