Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said it would be “unthinkable” if President Trump told James Comey to back off the investigation into former national security adviser Mike Flynn.
Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on CBS Sunday morning that Comey’s testimony in front of his committee on Thursday should tell Americans a lot about whether Trump obstructed the FBI’s investigation into Russian meddling in the election.
“We’ve known since Watergate the rules of the road where the president shouldn’t intervene in an ongoing investigation, particularly if it involves individuals close to that president,” he said.
“It would be unthinkable … if President Trump asked Comey to, in essence, back off the investigation into Gen. Flynn.”
Comey is set to testify in front of Congress on Thursday for the first time since he was fired as Trump’s FBI director last month. Reports have surfaced since his dismissal that Trump put pressure on Comey to end his investigation into Flynn and into the investigation into possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and the Russian government.
Warner wants to know what Trump told Comey and when.
“I want to know what kind of pressure, appropriate or inappropriate,” Trump put on Comey, Warner said.
Warner also portrayed the hearing as a time for Comey to respond to Trump’s criticism of the ex-FBI director. Trump reportedly criticized Comey to Russian diplomats following his dismissal and criticized him in multiple interviews and tweets since the dismissal.
“He’s going to have a chance to tell his story and I know every member is going to have questions,” he said.
