Page 2 - July 5th Statement News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> i don't. i don't. >> thank you, jim. >> senator collins. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. comey, let me gin by thanking you for your voluntary compliance with our request to appear before this committee and since it's been very important investigation. ewant to first ask you about your conversations with the president, the three conversations in which you told him that he was not under investigation. the firsts with during your january 6th meeting, according to your testimony, in which it appears that you actually volunteered that assurance. is that correct? >> that's correct. >> did you lim...

Appreciate that, not only the conciseness and the clearness of it, but also the fact that you have things that were written down contemporaneously with whe happened, you put them in quotes so we know exactly what happened, we're not getting some ren diction of it that's in your mind. so you are to be complimented. >> thank you. i had great parents and teachtaries beat that into me. >> that's obvious. the chairman walked you through a number of things the american people need to know and want to know. number one, obviously, we all know about the active measures that the russian versus taken. i ...

Investigation. our experienced staff is interviewing all relevant parties and some of the most sensitive intelligence in our country's possession. we will establish the facts separate from rampant speculation and lay them out for the american people to make their own judgment. only then will we as a nation be able to move forward and to put this episode to rest. there are several outstanding issues not addressed in your statement that i hope you'll clear up for the american people today. did the president's request for loyalty, your impression, let the one on one dinner of january 27th was and...

Privately ask director comey again "to see way clear to letting flynn go." that is a statement that director comey interpreted as a request that he drop the investigation connected to general flynn's false statements. think about it. the president of the united states asking the fbi director to drop an ongoing investigation. and after that, the president called the fbi director on two additional occasions, march 30th and april 11th and asked him again "to lift the cloud on the russian investigation." now, director comey denied each of these improper requests. the loyalty pledge, the admonition...

That matter, any other criminal offense, where they said or thought they hoped for an outcome? >> i don't know well enough to answer. the reason i keep saying his words is i took it as a direction. >> right. >> i mean, this is a president of the united states with me alone saying i hope this. i took it as, this is what he wants me to do. i didn't obey that, but that's the way i took it. >> you may have taken it as a direction but that's not what he said. >> correct. >> he said, i hope. >> those are his exact words, correct. >> you don't know of anyone ever being charged for hoping something, i...