What Former FBI Director's Testimony Could Mean For Trump
In the month since President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, the FBI has intensified its investigation into Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election and the possibility that it coordinated with Trump campaign officials.
On Thursday, Comey is scheduled to testify before a congressional committee once more this year, after testifying before a House Intelligence Commitee on Hilary Clinton's email server scandal during her term as Secretary of State. Under oath and just days before his ousting, Comey reiterated the Bureau's continued investigation into the Trump campiagn's collusion with Russia. He is set to have a grand stage, as all three big broadcast networks will carry the event live, before a closed-door session in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday.
Big questions are on the table, such as: Did Comey tell the President, on three separate occasions, that he was not under investigation? Did President Trump commit obstruction of justice when he asked Comey to halt the investigation of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's Russian ties and can that be proven? Why didn't he report his concerns somehow? How, if at all will, these questions and answers impede or assist former FBI Director and current Special Prosectuor Robert Muller's investigation into the Russia case?
All of this comes off Monday's announcement by Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee-Sanders that President Trump would not invoke his executive privilege in barring Comey from testifying, acknowledging a massive public relations blowback and a President's limited power over a private citizen.
It remains to be seen if Comey will add new elements to the investigation unbeknownst to members of Congress and FBI officials or whether his testimony could lead to criminal charges being filed against Trump campaign officials and surrogates on the basis of obstruction of justice.