The former FBI director will appear before a Senate committee to discuss Donald Trump and Russia. (Fun!) Here's what to expect.
June 7, 2017
On Thursday, former FBI director and shockingly tall man James Comey will appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee to deliver his first public testimony since Donald Trump unceremoniously fired him last month. The entire spectacle is shaping up to be some combination of the Dork Super Bowl and the Debate Club Burnout Apocalypse, as each of the three major networks will cover the proceedings live, and a whole bunch of D.C. bars will be opening early and offering patrons the chance to quench their thirst with an array of delicious covfefe-themed drink specials. If you're not really sure why people are gearing up for a Capitol Hill hearing like it's one of those World Cup matches on the other side of the planet, I am here to answer all your pressing questions before the breathless hysteria and insufferably nerdy madness begins in earnest.
Why do we care about this?
As FBI director, James Comey was in charge of a "highly significant" investigation into Donald Trump's alleged connections to Russia. According to Trump, he fired Comey because of Comey's handling of the months-old investigation into Hillary Clinton's email server—which, of course, makes absolutely no sense, especially given how Trump lavishly praised Comey at the time. A gaggle of administration officials tied themselves into knots offering alternative dubious rationales, only to have those carefully-crafted stories immediately undermined by Trump himself. (Telling a group of Russian officials that he had fired the "nut job" FBI director to relieve himself of "great pressure" did not help the White House's case.)
Finally, the other shoe dropped: In mid-May, the New York Times reported that Trump had asked Comey to pledge his loyalty and to stop the Russian investigation altogether. These are mere allegations, not proof that the President of the United States obstructed justice. That said, if you were writing a movie about a president who gets impeached, and you wanted to be sure that the things your main character does are in fact impeachable, the highly-paid consultants you hire to make sure your movie is realistic would absolutely sign off on this.
What's Comey going to say?
WHO KNOWS? You have to watch, man! No, kidding, this is Washington we're talking about, so we already have a good idea of some of the stuff that's going to happen. Comey will reportedly not allege that the president's actions amounted to obstruction of justice—though, I would add, that's a legal determination, and Comey is essentially a fact witness here. Comey documented his interactions with Trump in a series of contemporaneously-prepared memoranda—[lawyerly nod of approval]—that apparently went into shockingly granular detail, and his written testimony provides some tantalizing nuggets that will almost certainly have Trump's attorneys working a late one tonight.
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