Politics
Win McNamee
James Comey.
Former FBI Director James Comey will tell the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday that President Donald Trump told him he "had not been involved" with Russian "hookers," according to Comey's prepared remarks, which the committee published on Wednesday.
The exchange occurred during a phone call on March 30 from Trump to Comey at his FBI office, according to the remarks.
Trump "described the Russia investigation as 'a cloud' that was impairing his ability to act on behalf of the country," Comey's remarks say. "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."
A dossier prepared by a former British intelligence official that alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia contained an unverified claim that Trump hired sex workers to perform lewd acts in a Moscow Ritz-Carlton presidential suite. Trump has publicly dismissed the dossier as "fake news."
Comey said in his remarks that during a dinner on January 27, Trump "expressed his disgust for the allegations" and said he was considering ordering Comey "to investigate the alleged incident to prove it didn't happen." Comey said he told Trump that ordering such an investigation "might create a narrative" that the FBI was investigating him personally, which it wasn't, and that it was "very difficult to prove a negative," according to the remarks.
Trump fired Comey on May 9 via a letter. Here's how you can watch Comey's testimony on Thursday.
Here are Comey's full prepared remarks:
James Comey Prepared Senate Testimony June 8 by Rebecca Harrington on Scribd