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Broadcast networks to carry James Comey testimony live

At least three of the big four TV networks will carry former FBI James Comey's scheduled testimony in front of Congress live on Thursday.

ABC, CBS and Fox networks have announced that they will interrupt their daytime programming to carry the highly anticipated hearing, which will feature Comey's first public comments on his role investigating whether President Trump's campaign colluded with Russia since he was fired last month.

NBC has not officially announced its programming plans, though a source told the Washington Examiner it is expected to confirm Tuesday that it will carry the hearing live.[ Since this was written, NBC has also announced they will carry the hearing live]
Trump's opponents will be looking for Comey to testify that the president pushed him to drop the investigation, a potential obstruction of justice.

The administration had previously said that Trump was considering invoking executive privilege to prevent Comey's testimony, but the White House said Monday that he would not block him from testifying.

Comey offers dramatic details of Trump meetings in opening statement

Fired FBI Director James Comey will offer dramatic testimony on Thursday confirming reports that President Trump asked him to "lift the cloud" of the FBI's investigation into Trump's possible campaign ties to Russia.

Comey on Wednesday released the opening statement of his highly anticipated testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee, in which he also confirms the president pressed him to "let go" of the bureau’s investigation into former national security advisor Michael Flynn. Flynn is one of the Trump staffers accused of holding secret talks with Russian officials.

In an encounter shortly after Flynn’s resignation, according to Comey's statement, Trump said he hoped that Comey could "let go" of the investigation into the former Trump staffer.

In another conversation with Trump, Comey reported in the statement that the president said to him, "I need loyalty. I expect loyalty."

Comey told lawmakers in the statement, which he will also deliver verbally in a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, about one previously unreported incident that took place on the morning of March 30, 10 days after Comey publicly confirmed the investigation.

The president called Comey at the FBI, according to the testimony. Describing the Russia investigation as “a cloud," he asked the director what could be done to “lift the cloud.”

"I responded that we were investigating the matter as quickly as we could, and that there would be great benefit, if we didn’t find anything, to our having done the work well," Comey wrote. "He agreed, but then re-emphasized the problems this was causing him."

Comey also confirmed Trump's claim that, when asked by the president, he assured him personally he was not under investigation.

In a discussion following Comey's March 20 disclosure of the existence of the investigation, Comey will testify, he told the president that he had informed congressional leadership on which individuals were currently under investigation. The president made repeated requests that Comey publicly counter the narrative that he himself was under personal investigation, according to the dismissed director.

"I did not tell the president that the FBI and the Department of Justice had been reluctant to make public statements that we did not have an open case on President Trump for a number of reasons, most importantly because it would create a duty to correct, should that change," Comey said in the statement.

In Comey's final interaction with the president, on April 11, the president called on Comey to follow up on that request.

"'Because I have been very loyal to you, very loyal; we had that thing you know,'" Comey reported the president saying.

"I did not reply or ask him what he meant by 'that thing,'" Comey clarified.

Comey will also testify that the president told him that he was considering ordering the then-director to investigate allegations contained in a shadowy dossier believed to be drawn to some extent from unverified and likely erroneous information circulated by Russian intelligence.

The president reportedly told Comey that he had not been involved with prostitutes in Russia, which is one of the claims contained in the dossier — which has been widely treated as dubiously-sourced at best.

Comey told the president that he should "give that careful thought because it might create a narrative that we were investigating him personally, which we weren’t, and because it was very difficult to prove a negative."

Lord Jim wrote:I'm sure his "insights" will be exactly whatever Trump tweets about it...

ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox networks have announced that they will interrupt their daytime programming to carry the highly anticipated hearing, which will feature Comey's first public comments on his role investigating whether President Trump's campaign colluded with Russia since he was fired last month.

A DC gay bar will be showing Comey's appearance at the hearings and offering some appropriate drink specials

Bars across U.S. opening early for James Comey testimony

As lawmakers prepare to hear new testimony from fired FBI Director James Comey during Thursday's Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, the nation's watering holes are looking to capitalize on his much-anticipated appearance before Congress.

Bars across the country are opening their doors early to serve politically-themed cocktails to those looking for a place to watch the hearing live.

Here are some of the establishments serving up an early round of beverages during Thursday's Hill hearing:
Washington, DC

Shaw's Tavern

The bar in Washington, D.C.'s Shaw neighborhood is serving Russian vodka cocktails and an "FBI breakfast" bright and early at 9:30 am for their "Comey Hearing Covefe" event where the bar will broadcast the hearing. Shaw's Tavern General Manager Rob Heim told CBS News, "We have always had watch parties for debate nights and on election nights -- but this will certainly be our first watch party for a congressional hearing."

Drink specials: Russian vodka cocktails



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Union Pub

The Capitol Hill pub will open at 9:30 a.m. and will buy a round of drinks for the house every time President Trump issues a tweet on the hearing, offering the generous special until Comey's testimony ends.

Drink special: Free round for the house every time Mr. Trump tweets about hearing[They may go broke with that one...]

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The Partisan

The part-restaurant, part-butcher shop will be opening at 10 a.m., and offering breakfast service.

Specialty drinks: "The Last Word" and "Drop The Bomb"

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Duffy's Irish pub

The pub will be hosting its own "Comey Show" -- doors open early, and the pub offers free WiFi to allow patrons to "work" while viewing the proceedings on any of 15 television screens.

Specialty drink: "Covefefe Cocktail"




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San Fransisco, California

West Coast establishments plan to open substantially earlier than East Coast bars, since the hearing's 10 a.m. ET start team translates into 7 a.m. PT. Bars like Ace's, Gino and Carlo's Tavern and Clooney's Pub will have their TVs tuned to the testimony.


Houston, Texas

Axelrad

The bar will be opening its doors promptly at 8:45 a.m. for early morning beers and friendly debate at their "SUPER BOWL OF Washington" event. While the event boasts a whopping 120 RSVP's and 906 "interested" attendees on Facebook, Axelrad partners Adam Brackman, Monte Large, and Jeff Kaplan say this is far from their first rodeo.

Specialty drinks: "Impeachmint", "Bad hombre", "Paid Protester" and "Frozen Covfefe"

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http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bars-across ... -thursday/

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A DC gay bar will be showing Comey's appearance at the hearings and offering some appropriate drink specials ..."

RayThom wrote:

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Trump feels 'totally vindicated' by Comey testimony, lawyer says

President Trump feels "vindicated" following the release of former FBI Director James Comey’s prepared testimony before Congress about the pair's past conversations, the president's lawyer said Wednesday.

“The president feels completely and totally vindicated,” Marc Kasowitz, an attorney representing Trump in the special counsel probe into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, said in a statement. “He is eager to move forward with his agenda.”

Kasowitz pointed to sections of Comey’s planned remarks in which the ousted FBI chief said he informed Trump that he “was not under investigation in any Russian probe” — a claim Trump made in his letter informing the former director of his firing last month.

But the lawyer did not dispute other revelations from Comey’s testimony, which he is set to deliver publicly on Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Those other revelations confirmed reports that Trump has previously denied.

For example, Comey says in his opening statement that Trump asked him to “let go” of the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, whom Trump ask to step down after he misled senior officials about his conversations with Russia's ambassador.

Comey also recounted another private conversation when the president asked him to “lift the cloud” of the FBI’s probe into whether Trump associates colluded with Russia’s election-meddling effort.

Critics have said those comments, combined with Trump's alleged attempt to get Comey to pledge his "loyalty," could amount to obstruction of justice.

During a press conference last month, Trump was asked whether he urged Comey “in any way, shape, or form to close or to back down the investigation into Michael Flynn.”

“No. No. Next question,” Trump responded.

Comey is likely to be pressed for further details about his conversations with Trump during his high-stakes appearance before the Senate panel Thursday. Lawmakers are likely to scrutinize Comey’s claim that he did not take Trump’s request to “let this go” in reference to Flynn to be a broader reference to the Russia probe, among other details.

Kasowitz, a New York trial attorney who has represented Trump in the past, is consulting with the president and his team ahead of the testimony. He was spotted on the White House grounds early Wednesday by a Bloomberg News reporter.

Report: RNC to Lead Anti-Comey Charge for Trump

The White House will outsource its “war room” response to FBI Director James Comey’s testimony in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday to the Republican National Committee, according to a Wall Street Journal report. While the White House is referring most questions about the Russia investigations to President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Marc Kasowitz, a group of about 60 RNC staffers will lead the anti-Comey charge.

The RNC has already begun trumpeting Team Trump's narrative about Comey, tweeting a suggestion earlier Wednesday that the fired FBI director's prepared testimony—which shows that Trump asked him for loyalty and suggested that he lay off the investigation into Michael Flynn—was devoid of substance.

Lord Jim wrote:Learning this both depressed and disgusted me:

Report: RNC to Lead Anti-Comey Charge for Trump

The White House will outsource its “war room” response to FBI Director James Comey’s testimony in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday to the Republican National Committee, according to a Wall Street Journal report. While the White House is referring most questions about the Russia investigations to President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Marc Kasowitz, a group of about 60 RNC staffers will lead the anti-Comey charge.

The RNC has already begun trumpeting Team Trump's narrative about Comey, tweeting a suggestion earlier Wednesday that the fired FBI director's prepared testimony—which shows that Trump asked him for loyalty and suggested that he lay off the investigation into Michael Flynn—was devoid of substance.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/report-rnc ... ce=copyurl

One thing I'm going to be watching for today is how GOP Senators on the Intel Committee comport themselves...

If all they seem to want to ask about is the diversionary bullshit about "unmasking" and leaks, I may start throwing things...

Guinevere wrote: "...
As I said the other day - rotten to the core. Sorry LJ, your party has demonstrated that it is willing to subvert the Constitution (or at least stand behind a man who does so on a daily basis) for the ability to hold and try to further consolidate power. It's horrific and disgusting, and I feel for you. Believe me, the Dems have plenty of their own issues, but right now, you guys are at an entirely different level.