Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) on Thursday asked former FBI Director James Comey what "thing" President Donald Trump was referring to in their April 11 phone call.
McCain pressed Comey on several issues during his appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee, including why the former FBI director did not inquire further about what that "thing" was.
"You talked about the April 11 phone call, and [Trump] said, 'Because I've been very loyal to you, very loyal, we had that thing, you know.' Didn't it arouse your curiosity as what 'that thing' was?" McCain asked.
"Yes," Comey said.
McCain then asked why Comey did not try to find out what Trump was referring to.
"It didn't seem to be to be important to the conversation we were having to understand it," Comey responded. "I took it to be an effort to communicate to me that there is a relationship between us where 'I've been good to you, you should be good to me.'"
"Yeah, but I think it would intentionally arouse my curiosity if the president of the United States said, 'We had that thing, you know,'" McCain said. "I'd like to know what the hell that thing is, particularly if I'm the director of the FBI."
Comey explained that he would "speculate" that Trump was searching back to their earlier encounter and was preparing himself to mention them offering loyalty to each other.
Comey then added that he believes Trump's memory "showed him that that did not happen" and instead pulled up short.
"That's just a guess, but I've had a lot of conversations with humans over the years," the former FBI chief said.