January 6: FBI Director James Comey briefs President-elect Trump on the Intelligence Community brief concerning Russian interference in the United States election.
James Comey is going to testify Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill.
Fired FBI Chief James Comey seizes center stage in a compelling national political drama Thursday as he delivers congressional testimony that has grave implications for the fate of Donald Trump's presidency.
About two weeks later, Comey said, Trump called and asked what was being done to underscore that he himself was not under investigation.
Comey told the House Intelligence Committee on March 20 that the FBI was investigating Moscow's role in the election, including possible collusion with Trump's campaign.
President Donald Trump surprised Washington on Wednesday with his choice to replace James Comey a day ahead of the ousted Federal Bureau of Investigation director's blockbuster congressional testimony, tapping a white-collar defense lawyer with strong law enforcement background.
Comey's planned testimony also laid out his February meeting with Trump, during which the president urged Comey to back off the FBI's Michael Flynn investigation.
"You have got to wait until the end of the investigation before anybody can say they are vindicated", Whitehouse said.
Among the encounters Comey describes is a January 27 dinner at the White House that he viewed as an attempt by the president to "create some sort of patronage relationship".
Ryan Goodman, a New York University law professor, called that statement "the most devastating revelation" in Comey's testimony.
"I repeatedly told him I did intend to stay and serve out the remaining six years of my term". Trump complained the investigation was a "cloud" over his administration that needed to be lifted, Mr. Comey said. Comey said he felt it was not only important to keep Trump in the loop, but also to spread the word and weaken the ability of the Russians to use it as blackmail. "Only then will we be able to move forward and put this issue to rest".
UAE seeking 'change of policy, not regime' in Qatar
A UAE official said no one rejects the idea of talks , but first Qatar must make "iron-clad commitment" to change policies. Qatar is home to a key USA airbase, a centerpiece in the US -led coalition's fight against the Islamic State.
Trump is widely expected to use his Twitter account, which lists 31.8 million followers, to counterpunch at Comey on Thursday - perhaps even in real time.
- Comey says he first met Trump on January 6 to brief him on the contents of a salacious dossier.
That bombshell announcement made clear to everyone, including the president who later fired him, that the investigation was very real. "During our one-on-one meeting at Trump Tower, based on President Elect Trump's reaction to the briefing and without him directly asking the question, I offered that assurance". I don't think you did anything wrong. But it is one of the most important, and prominent, developments in the sprawling web of the Russian Federation investigations.
At the most decisive moment in the Justice Department's post-9/11 history, Christopher Wray, then head of its criminal division, did not want to be left out.
However, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Comey's testimony "confirms a host of troubling allegations concerning the President's conduct".
"I am hopeful that he will clarify for the American people recent events that have been broadly reported in the media", Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., said when he announced the session.
Putin and other Russian officials have repeatedly denied interfering in the U.S. election.
"He said 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", Comey's prepared statement says.
He said he it was not for him to say whether Mr Trump's actions were an obstruction of justice.
Trump said in May that China may have hacked the emails of Democratic officials to meddle with the election, offering no evidence and countering the view of intelligence officials.
The White House has yet to outline specifics of the infrastructure plan, which it hopes to achieve largely through public-private partnerships.
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