ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
And we begin with some excerpts from Senate testimony today by the man who was fired by President Donald Trump as director of the FBI.
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RICHARD BURR: Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?
JAMES COMEY: I do.
BURR: Please be seated. Director Comey, you're now under oath.
SIEGEL: James Comey testified this morning before the Senate intelligence committee. Comey said he always understood that he could be fired by the president for any reason, but he said he was prompted to testify by the differing accounts the White House gave of his dismissal on May 9.
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COMEY: So it confused me when I saw on television the president saying that he actually fired me because of the Russia investigation and learned again from the media that he was telling privately other parties that my firing had relieved great pressure on the Russia investigation. I was also confused by the initial explanation that was offered publicly that I was fired because of the decisions I had made during the election year. That didn't make sense to me for a whole bunch of reasons, including the time and all the water that had gone under the bridge since those hard decisions that had to be made. That didn't make any sense to me.
And although the law require no reason at all to fire an FBI director, the administration then chose to defame me and, more importantly, the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray, that it was poorly led, that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader. Those were lies, plain and simple.
SIEGEL: Comey had also written a seven-page account of his dealings with President Trump which was released yesterday, so the committee was familiar with Comey's recollections of the president's asking him for loyalty and suggesting that he let the matter of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn go.
Comey's written opening statement was based on memos he wrote after his meetings with the president. The vice chair of the Senate intelligence committee, Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia, asked Comey about his meeting with then President-elect Trump on January 6 in New York City. It was after that meeting that Comey began taking copious notes.
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MARK WARNER: What was it about that meeting that led you to determine that you needed to start putting down a written record?
COMEY: A combination of things. I think the circumstances, the subject matter and the person I was interacting with. Circumstances first - I was alone with the president of the United States, or the president-elect, soon to be president. The subject matter - I was talking about matters that touch on the FBI's core responsibility and that relate to the president, president-elect personally.
And then the nature of the person - I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, and so I thought it really important to document. That combination of things I'd never experienced before, but it led me to believe I got to write it down, and I got to write it down in a very detailed way.
SIEGEL: Comey said he never felt the need to similarly document his two one-on-one conversations with President Obama or his one such conversation with President George W. Bush when Comey was a senior Justice Department lawyer. Much of Comey's testimony centered on his Oval Office conversation with the president on February 14. It began as a normal meeting with other advisers and officials, including Attorney General Jeff Sessions. But then Trump asked everyone but Comey to leave. Again, Senator Warner.
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WARNER: What was your impression of that type of action? Had you ever seen anything like that before?
COMEY: No. My impression was something big is about to happen. I need to remember every single word that is spoken. And again, I could be wrong. I'm 56 years old. I've been seeing a few things. My sense was the attorney general knew he shouldn't be leaving, which is why he was lingering. And I don't know Mr. Kushner well, but I think he picked up on the same thing. And so I knew something was about to happen that I needed to pay very close attention to.
SIEGEL: That was the meeting in which Trump said of the Flynn investigation, I hope you can let this go. Comey said he took that as a direction. But Senator James Risch, Republican of Idaho, tried to establish that the sentence I hope you can let this go should not be construed as obstruction of justice.
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COMEY: I mean this is the president United States with me alone saying, I hope this. I took it as, this is what he wants me to do.
JAMES RISCH: You...
COMEY: Now, I didn't obey that, but that's the way it took it.
RISCH: You may have taken it as a direction, but that's not what he said.
COMEY: Correct. I - that's why...
RISCH: He said, I hope.
COMEY: Those are exact words, correct.
RISCH: OK. You don't know of anyone that's ever been charged for hoping something. Is that a fair statement?
COMEY: I don't as I sit here.
RISCH: Yeah. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
SIEGEL: Later in the hearing, Republican James Lankford of Oklahoma characterized president Trump's use of the words I hope as a light touch, but California Democrat Kamala Harris, a former prosecutor, interpreted that word hope differently.
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KAMALA HARRIS: When a robber held a gun to somebody's head and said, I hope you will give me your wallet, the word hope was not the most operative word at that moment.
SIEGEL: Senator Dianne Feinstein, the senior California Democrat, asked Comey about his response to Trump in the Oval Office when the question of investigating retired General Michael Flynn came up. Comey recalls the president saying, I hope you can see your way to letting Flynn go; he's a good guy. And by his own recollection, Comey says he replied that he agreed. Flynn is a good guy.
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DIANNE FEINSTEIN: Why didn't you stop and say, Mr. President, this is wrong; I cannot discuss this with you?
COMEY: That's a great question. Maybe if I were stronger, I would have. I was so stunned by the conversation that I just took it in. And the only thing I could think to say 'cause I was playing in my mind - 'cause I could remember every word he said - I was playing in my mind, what should my response be? And that's why I very carefully chose the words.
And look; I - I've seen the tweet about tapes. Lordy, I hope there are tapes. I remember saying, I agree he's a good guy as a way of saying, I'm not agreeing with what you just asked me to do. Again, maybe other people would be stronger in that circumstance. But that was - that's how I conducted myself. I hope I'll never have another opportunity. Maybe if I did it again, I would do it better.
SIEGEL: Later Comey told Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins that he himself coordinated the leak to the press of his memo describing that February meeting with Trump in the hopes that it would prompt the appointment of a special counsel, which it did just a day later in the appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller to oversee the Russia investigation.
Near the end of his open testimony today, speaking to Rhode Island Democrat Jack Reed, Comey emphasized his opinion that the FBI's investigation of Flynn and Russian meddling was why he was fired. And he expressed his confidence in Robert Mueller's investigation going forward.
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COMEY: It's my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation. I was fired in some way to change - or the endeavor was to change the way the Russia investigation was being conducted. That is a very big deal and not just because it involves me. The nature of the FBI and the nature of its work requires that it not be the subject of political consideration.
And on top of that, you have - the Russia investigation itself is vital because of the threat. And I know I should have said this earlier, but it's obvious. If any Americans were part of helping the Russians do that to us, that is a very big deal. And I'm confident that if that is the case, Director Mueller will find that evidence. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
