Comey accuses Trump of lying 'plain and simple'

Somebody get Oliver Stone on the line. All broadcast networks and cable news stations will preempt programming to air the proceedings live.

Leading up to his firing last month, Comey has said that President Trump called him and described the Russian Federation investigation as "a cloud that was impairing his ability to act on behalf of the country".

The FBI has refused to hand over Comey's memos to Congress, citing an ongoing investigation.

#ComeyDay began trending Thursday morning as the nation prepared to watch one of the year's most anticipated political events.

"I didn't move, speak or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed", Comey said of the exchange.

"That's a great question", Comey said.

Mueller was appointed as a special counsel by the department last month. Democrats said they would press the issue of obstruction while Republicans hedged their comments. "I'm good with it". In a blockbuster hearing full of key moments, that was the main highlight.

A CBS News poll in March found that 50 percent of Americans believe Russian Federation interfered in the 2016 election. Comey is testifying that he gave Trump no such assurance.

For some officials, primarily GOP members, that interaction was not immediately seen as an ask for immediate action of Comey to stop the Flynn probe.

"I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go", Comey quoted the president as saying.

Comey was abruptly fired in early May. But of course he didn't drop the investigation.

Given that the first article of impeachment written up on Richard Nixon was about obstruction of justice, the intricacies of this point matter. But more than an hour into the testimony, two of his sons are.

In a potentially risky gambit, Capitol Hill's Union Pub pledges a free round for patrons each time President Donald Trump tweets during the hearing or until 4 p.m. Trump Jr posted repeatedly during the testimony, defending his father and attacking Comey.

On Tuesday, Trump was asked what his message for Comey would be. The reason Comey has that problem is that both Democrats and Republicans had spent almost a year attacking Comey precisely for failing to exercise professional discretion when it mattered - politicizing the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a result.

However, Comey said he didn't tell the attorney-general that Trump had told him to "let it go" when it came to the Flynn investigation. The published statement included Comey's notes on every one-on-one meeting he had with Trump since Trump was elected president.

They also came shortly after two top United States spy agency chiefs skirted questions from the Senate panel about whether Trump asked them to intervene in the Flynn probe, as reported by The Washington Post.

"I passed that along, but I did not tell [Sessions] about the Flynn part", Comey said.

The reason he documented all nine meetings with Trump?

"I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting", Comey told the committee.

The President and I had dinner on Friday, January 27 at 6:30 pm in the Green Room at the White House.

Burr is leading the committee's investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election and ties with Trump's own campaign team. With Comey's public appearance, the committee, the House intelligence committee, and special counsel Robert Mueller each have testimony casting Trump as a liar and a Nixonesque scoundrel who attempted to abuse his power.

Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said that Comey's opening statement "answered a lot of questions" and expressed interest "in him confirming what he said" during Thursday's hearing. At the same time, Comey said he became "confused" and later "concerned" by the shifting explanations as to why he was sacked.

But the ex-FBI director also will validate Trump's assertion that he was not personally a target of the federal counterintelligence investigation into possible campaign collusion with Russian Federation.