In an extraordinary day, former FBI Director James Comey calls Donald Trump a liar while testifying before Congress and says in the Senate hearing that he believes Trump’s “hope” expressed in his Oval Office one-to-one meeting that Comey would drop the FBI investigation into Michael Flynn was, in fact, an order. Via The New York Times.
James Comey’s testimony may show that Trump is more or less guilty of attempting to obstruct justice. But maybe the most damning thing Comey will say is that Trump’s multiple requests for Comey to pledge his personal loyalty to the president is just the opposite of what the oath of office demands. Via Vox.
Comey’s prepared testimony annotated. Via The New York Times.
From The National Review: David French writes of Comey’s testimony that the GOP was right to be outraged when Bill Clinton met with Loretta Lynch once, and that what Trump did — nine meetings with Comey in four months— is far, far worse.
Comey did apparently tell Trump that he wasn’t under investigation. But if there’s anything we can take away from Comey’s prepared testimony, it’s that Trump probably should be under investigation by now. Via The New Republic.
It may not be exactly ironic, but the man whom many blame for costing Hillary Clinton the election may be the same person to bring down Donald Trump. A brief intellectual history of James Comey may explain why. Via The New Yorker. Or if you want to look more deeply, The Atlantic puts it all on Comey’s insistence on needing to set the record straight.
It’s Game of Thrones time as the Comey hearing will almost certainly be must-see TV. Sally Quinn says it should be a national holiday (at least in Washington) because no work is going to get done. At one D.C. bar, where they’re showing the hearings live, they’re offering free shots every time Trump tweets during the show. Via The New York Times.
Charles Pierce: It’s time for Trump to go. Really. He should just go. Via Esquire.
Dana Milbank: What could be more Herculean than trying to defend Trump just now? If you watched the Coats-Rogers-Rosenstein-McCabe testimony Tuesday, you’d have to say, not much. Via The Washington Post.
White House aides are tempering their criticism of Comey, outsourcing the response responsibility to the Republican National Committee. Of course, those same aides have no control over what their boss might do as he sits down to watch the hearing. Via Politico.
Photo by FBI, via Flickr: Creative Commons
