Comey would be free to speak to reporters after his Hill appearance and to release a transcript, something that is typically available within a day.

‘He will stain everyone around him.’

And don’t forget James B. Comey, Robert S. Mueller III, Andrew G. McCabe, Rod J. Rosenstein, John D. Podesta, Nancy Pelosi, Lisa Murkowski, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rosie O’Donnell, Meryl Streep, the mayor of London and the cast of “Saturday Night Live.”

But for all of that feistiness ... there is one person who is definitely not on Mr. Trump’s target list: President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

Comey made clear that the memo he gave to his friend to leak, documenting a meeting on Feb. 14 of this year, was not one that included classified material.

EARHARDT: Robert Mueller, do you think he should recuse himself from the investigation? TRUMP: Well, he's very, very good friends with Comey, which is very bothersome.

Comey was also reticent about his interactions with Attorney General Jeff Sessions

“The President, they seem to argue, acted without knowledge of the law because he simply doesn’t know how to do his job. Trump’s actions may be criminal, but they are excusable because he’s a well-meaning idiot.”

“Underneath all the grotesquery, this is a drama that concerns the whole world.”

(9) The Director of the FBI was CONVINCED—from the moment of his FIRST meeting with the President of the United States—that Trump is a LIAR.

(15) Trump has an UNUSUAL OBSESSION with a SINGLE allegation from a dossier accusing him of TREASON: that he consorted with Russian hookers.

(CONCLUSION) While yesterday's Senate hearing had more TV-ready fireworks, TODAY we got far, FAR more actual bombshells on the Russia probe.

"...at one point the attorney general had directed me not to call it an investigation, but instead to call it a matter, which confused me and concerned me"

"I was honestly concerned he might lie about the nature of our meeting so I thought it important to document. That combination of things I had never experienced before, but had led me to believe I got to write it down and write it down in a very detailed way."

"I knew there might come a day when I would need a record of what had happened, not just to defend myself, but to defend the FBI and our integrity as an institution and the Independence of our investigative function."

"Look, I've seen the tweet about tapes. Lordy, I hope there are tapes."

"I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter. Didn't do it myself for a variety of reasons. I asked him to because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel."

"There should be no fuzz on this whatsoever. The Russians interfered in our election during the 2016 cycle. They did with purpose. They did it with sophistication. They did it with overwhelming technical efforts. It was an active measures campaign driven from the top of that government. There is no fuzz on that."

"I think people should look at the whole body of my testimony. As I used to say to juries, when I talked about a witness, you can't cherry pick it. You can't say, I like these things he said but on this, he's a rotten liar. You have to take it together."

King: "...when a president of the United States in the Oval Office says something like, I hope or I suggest or would you, do you take that as a directive?" Comey: "Yes. It rings in my ear as, well, 'Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest.'"

Lankford: "Quite frankly, the president has informed around 6 billion people that he's not real fond of this investigation. Do you think there's a difference in that?" Comey: "Yes. There's a big difference in kicking superior officers out of the oval office, looking the FBI director in the eye and saying I hope you let this go. I think if agents as good as they are heard the president of the United States did that, there's a real risk of a chilling effect on their work."

Manchin: "Do you believe there were any tapes or recordings of your conversations with the president?" Comey: "It never occurred to me until the president's tweet. I'm not being facetious. I hope there are."

Manchin: "Do you believe this rises to obstruction of justice?" Comey: "I don't know, that's Bob Mueller's job to sort that out."

Cotton: "Do you think Donald Trump colluded with Russia?" Comey: "That's a question I don't think I should answer in an open setting."

(7) Questions tomorrow about how Trump's actions made Jim Comey FEEL—or about whether those actions IMPEDED an investigation—are IRRELEVANT.

(9) Obstruction of Justice IS about *actions* of the defendant. It is NOT about the *specific intent* of the defendant in acting as he did.

(12) Therefore any Obstruction of Justice case against President Trump IS about—almost exclusively—the nature of the words he said to Comey.

(13) If the words Comey CONTEMPORANEOUSLY RECORDED as having been said by Trump were indeed said, Trump IS guilty of Obstruction of Justice.

(18) And under "Obstruction by Intimidation, Threats, Persuasion, or Deception (18 U.S.C. 1512[b]), Trump DID "attempt to persuade" Comey.

January 27 Dinner: "A few moments later, the President said, “I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.” I didn’t move, speak, or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed. We simply looked at each other in silence."

February 14 Oval Office Meeting: He then said, “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”

March 30 Phone Call: He described the Russia investigation as “a cloud” that was impairing his ability to act on behalf of the country. He said he had nothing to do with Russia, had not been involved with hookers in Russia, and had always assumed he was being recorded when in Russia. He asked what we could do to “lift the cloud.”

April 11 Phone Call: “Because I have been very loyal to you, very loyal; we had that thing you know.” I did not reply or ask him what he meant by “that thing.” ... That was the last time I spoke with President Trump.

...the President has opened himself up to a line of inquiry into whether in this call, perhaps in conjunction with other actions, represents attempted obstruction of justice.

“I actually asked him. I said, 'If it's possible, would you let me know am I under investigation?' He said, 'You are not under investigation,’”

But several other people familiar with the events said Trump had talked about the firing for over a week, and the letters were written to give him rationale to fire Comey.