Several reports suggest James Comey, the former FBI Director, will publicly testify before a Senate committee that President Trump put him under immense pressure to discontinue the FBI investigation into Trump’s former national security adviser Mike Flynn’s ties to Moscow.
As per CNN, Comey may appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee “as early as next week.” However, it is to be noted that no official date has yet been scheduled. The committee is currently investigating claims that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential elections in its favor.
“The bottom line is he’s going to testify,” an unnamed source told CNN about Comey. “He’s happy to testify, and he’s happy to cooperate.”
On May 09, Comey was suddenly fired by Trump, sparking controversy that the president was trying to obstruct the FBI’s investigation into claims that Russia meddled with the election. American intelligence authorities have claimed that Moscow did seek to impact the 2016 elections in way or another.
The New York Times, earlier in May, reported that Trump asked Comey, while he was still at the bureau, to somehow end the FBI’s investigation into Flynn.
According to a memo that Comey is claimed to have written after a meeting with Trump, the president reportedly told him “I hope you can let this go.”
This Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Comey is willing to testify that Trump asked him “to back off the investigation” into Flynn.
Following his confession that he misled Vice President Mike Pence regarding conversations with the Russian ambassador before Inauguration Day, Flynn resigned from his post as national security adviser to President Trump.