5 things to watch: Coats, Rogers, McCabe and Rosenstein testify

The Senate hearing featured officials closely tied to Trump's abrupt firing last month of Comey, which sparked accusations the president was trying to hinder the FBI investigation and stifle questions about possible collusion between his campaign and Russian Federation. AFP | Fired FBI director James Comey confirmed Wednesday that US President Donald Trump urged him to drop a probe into his former national security advisor Michael Flynn - a bombshell revelation ahead of his hotly-anticipated appearance on Capitol Hill.

"I have never felt pressure to intervene, interfere in any way for shaping intelligence in any way", Coats said at one point.

The events involving Coats show the president went further than, as was alleged earlier, just asking intelligence officials to deny publicly the existence of any evidence showing collusion during the 2016 election.

And Trump had a handful of sympathetic Republican senators on the panel, including Arkansas Sen.

Comey, who was sacked by Trump on May 9, is scheduled to testify before the same committee Thursday morning.

Comey is scheduled to testify before the committee on Thursday morning, and his prepared statement was posted on the committee's website.

"If I'm called before an investigative committee, I certainly will provide them with what I know and what I don't know", Coats said on May 23. He said the Federal Bureau of Investigation had not lost faith in Comey - that they still had confidence. Mr Comey on Thursday said he had told reporters about the Flynn meeting, in an effort to get a special counsel appointed in the Russian Federation investigation.

The focus of this hearing was supposed to be on the law surrounding the unmasking of names in surveillance operations.

Coats was testifying Wednesday before the Senate intelligence committee. We know that Comey is someone who takes copious notes about these conversations, and I think everyone's expecting a lot more detail about what specifically President Trump asked or directed or pressured him to do.

Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn Flynn has become the focus of investigators probing possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian Federation.

Host John King concluded that the intel bosses' answers left him with no choice but to infer that they simply didn't want to say something under oath that would "embarrass" President Trump.

The president has frequently railed against leaks, and a government contractor, Reality Winner, was charged Monday with leaking an NSA document that details Russian efforts to penetrate US election systems.

According to some key senators, Coats may reveal more about his interactions with Trump, including when the President reportedly urged the former IN senator to rebut the notion there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials. "We can't handcuff our national-security officials when they're fighting against such a vicious enemy", Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton said in defense of the bill.

To refuse to answer the questions in a public hearing "just won't be enough", Warner said.

Coats testifies today. Along with the Deputy Attorney General, Acting FBI Director and Head of the National Security Agency.