Former FBI Director James Comey will publicly testify before Congress as early as next week that President Trump pressed him to end the investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's ties to Russia, according to CNN.
Comey reportedly kept notes on his private conversations with Trump. Regarding the probe into Flynn's links to Russia, the New York Times reported that Comey wrote a memo that Trump told him "I hope you can let this go." In another conversation, the president asked for Comey's "loyalty."
A CNN source said Wednesday that Comey is expected to confirm these accounts.
BREAKING: James Comey plans to testify that Trump pushed him to end FBI probe into aide’s Russia ties, a source says https://t.co/V6AskneABk pic.twitter.com/RV2GkY1Dr1
— CNN (@CNN) May 31, 2017
CNN investigative editor Eric Lichtblau said Comey, who the president fired on May 9, is "ready and eager" to discuss his conversations with Trump regarding the Russian investigation.
He is unlikely to discuss details of the probe into allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, CNN reports.
Final details are still being worked out and no official date for his testimony has been set. Comey is expected to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating possible connections between the Trump campaign and Russia during last year's presidential election.
Comey has spoken privately with Special Counsel Robert Mueller III to work out the parameters for his testimony to ensure there are no legal entanglements as a result of his public account, a source said. Comey will likely sit down with Mueller, a longtime colleague at the Justice Department, for a formal interview only after his public testimony.
When he testifies, Comey is unlikely to be willing to discuss in any detail the FBI's investigation into the charges of possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign—the centerpiece of the probe, this source said.
Trump reportedly told Russian officials visiting him in the Oval Office that Comey was a "nut job" and that firing him relieved "great pressure because of Russia."