James Comey Testimony: What To Expect From Ex-FBI Director’s Appearance Before Senate Intelligence Committee

Former FBI Director James Comey is set to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday to speak about the ongoing investigation into alleged connections of Donald Trump’s campaign team and Russia. In the much anticipated testimony, Comey is expected to face questions about whether the president pressured him to let go of a probe into National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s ties to Moscow.

Trump dismissed Comey from the FBI’s director post May 9 over his handling of investigation into Democrat Hillary Clinton’s email scandal. However, several Democrats linked the firing to Comey’s probe into the links between the president’s associates and Russia during the 2016 election.

Read: Robert Mueller Could Object To James Comey's Public Testimony Before Intelligence Committee

Trump claimed on several occasions that Comey assured he was not under investigation. However, a Tuesday report from CNN , citing sources, said Comey will dispute Trump’s claim and would say his conversations were much nuanced because of which the president assumed he was not investigated. One source indicated to the news outlet that Trump may have misunderstood Comey’s statements regarding the investigation.

After the dismissal, the New York Times reported, citing a memo written by Comey in February, the president asked the ex-FBI director to let go of the investigation into Flynn.

“I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” Trump told Comey, according to the memo. “He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”

After the Times report, speculation arose if Trump obstructed justice. However, according ABC News reported Tuesday that Comey will stop short of saying the 70-year-old president meddled with the bureau’s investigation into Flynn.

“He is not going to Congress to make accusations about the president’s intent, instead he’s there to share his concerns,” a source told ABC News, adding Comey would tell the committee “what made him uneasy” and why thought of writing the memo.

Comey is also likely face questions about a loyalty pledge, which was reportedly asked by Trump. On May 11, the Times reported, citing sources, the president asked then-FBI director to pledge loyalty to his administration. Comey declined, but told him he would be honest with him, the report added.

Apart from this, Comey could be asked if there was evidence of collusion between Trump's associates and Russia. It remains to be seen what his answer would be. When former Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper faced similar question in March, he maintained he did not see such evidence. This response was cited by the White House and the president who called the Russia investigation a "witch hunt."

On Monday, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the principal deputy White House press secretary, said Trump will not invoke executive privilege to block Comey from testifying.

“The president's power to assert executive privilege is well-established. However, in order to facilitate a swift and thorough examination of the facts sought by the Senate intelligence committee, Trump will not assert executive privilege regarding James Comey's scheduled testimony,” Sanders said.