Former FBI Director James Comey said Thursday that he never considered resigning his post despite his issues with the Trump administration that he testified to before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
"At any time in the three-and-a-half months you were the FBI director during the Trump administration, did you ever write and sign a letter of [resignation] and leave it on your desk?" Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) asked.
"A letter of resignation? No, sir," Comey said.
"So despite all of the things that you've testified to here today, you didn't feel this rose to the level of an honest but serious difference of legal opinion, between accomplished and skilled lawyers, [like] in that 2004 episode?" Cotton asked.
"I wouldn't characterize the circumstances in 2004 that way, but to answer, no, I didn't encounter any circumstance that led me to intend to resign, consider to resign. No, sir," Comey said.
The "2004 episode" was a reference to when Comey and other FBI and Justice Department officials threatened to resign regarding a dispute over a George W. Bush administration surveillance program.
Comey has testified to conversations with President Donald Trump about being asked to pledge loyalty and to back off, in part, the investigation into ex-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. He said Trump defamed him and the FBI in the aftermath of his firing on May 9.
Comey also testified that he cannot say if Trump committed obstruction of justice and said he was never asked to drop the Russia investigation entirely.