MSNBC host Chris Matthews said Thursday that theories about President Donald Trump colluding with the Russians during the 2016 election "came apart" after former FBI Director James Comey's congressional testimony.
"Where's the there there?" Matthews asked in a clip flagged by the Washington Examiner.
Comey appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday morning to answer questions related to his firing, his past meetings with Trump, and the investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
During his testimony, Comey validated past claims that Trump was not personally being investigated, and stated his opinion that the president had not wanted him to drop the Russia investigation, only the probe into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
"The assumption of the critics of the president, of his pursuers you might say, is that somewhere along the line in the last year the president had something to do with colluding with the Russians," Matthews said.
But after Comey's testimony, "what came apart was that theory, in two regards," according to Matthews.
First, Comey's testimony said that Trump supported the Russia investigation.
"The president said, according to the written testimony of Mr. Comey, go ahead and get anybody satellite to my operation and nail them. I'm with you on that," Matthews said.
Second, Comey's testimony indicated that "Flynn wasn't central to the Russia investigation," and therefore Flynn could not be "flipped" to testify against Trump with incriminating information about Russian collusion.
Matthews said he had "always assumed" that was what Trump feared regarding Flynn.
"And if that's not the case, where's the there there?" Matthews asked, questioning the merits of those claiming Trump colluded with Moscow.