It may not be as worrisome to some as the potential of Russian collusion with a United States campaign, but Comey, again, made clear Thursday that it was a problem.
Mr Comey said in his testimony that he leaked his memos of his conversations with the president to a friend after a tweet by the president suggested he may have taped the conversations.
On Thursday, Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, asked Comey about a February 14 story in the New York Times that "suggested that the Trump campaign was colluding with the Russians".
Comey's accusations could further mire Trump's administration in legal difficulties, as special counsel Robert Mueller, appointed by the Justice Department after Comey was sacked, and several congressional committees investigate alleged Russian efforts to influence the election.
At one point he practically dared Trump to release any recordings of their conversations, a prospect the president once alluded to in a tweet. Comey injected a moment of levity, exclaiming, "Lordy, I hope there are tapes!"
"I needed to get that out into the public square".
Comey said it was that tweet that prompted him to ask a friend to reveal the contents of the memo to a reporter the following Tuesday, May 16.
Now those memos are a part of Mueller's investigation.
He also wants his memos released, too.
This has raised questions as to why Comey didn't tell others, including the attorney general. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican. Comey said there was more he could say about Sessions that he could not discuss in an open hearing.
Comey also said he started writing memos about his meetings with Trump after an encounter with the president-elect on January 6 because he was concerned Trump might lie about it. Comey said he never felt the need for such a record from meetings with Trump's two predecessors, Barack Obama and George W. Bush. I believe the - I take the president at his word, that I was sacked because of the Russian Federation investigation.
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The UK is reliant on the inflow of foreign investor capital to keep the value of Sterling elevated and its economy oiled. But even that arrangement seemed shaky. "Both short-term and medium-term GBP's prospects appear daunting to us".
The problem for Trump is that he's under investigation now. But Comey ducked him, saying "Not in those words, no".
It was clear, during the testimony, that even senators who normally defend Trump under any and all circumstances were hesitant to attack Comey.
The Justice Department responded late today, saying that after consultations with department ethics officials Sessions recused himself because of his involvement in Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, "for that reason, and that reason alone".
"Oh, I think there's gonna be a big national and worldwide viewership of this", he said.
Under questioning Thursday, Comey reaffirmed the intelligence community's conclusion that Russian Federation meddled in the election.
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Kasowitz denied Trump ever told Comey he needed and expected his loyalty, as Comey said, and also slammed the former Federal Bureau of Investigation chief for saying he leaked details of a conversation with the president. "Those were lies, plain and simple".
Later, Comey said the entire reason he took careful notes of his meetings with Trump was because he believed the President would lie about them.
"I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, so I thought it really important to document", he said.
When did Comey take Trump at his word? Trump later contradicted his own staff and acknowledged on May 11 he fired Comey because of the Russian Federation probe.
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