Recently fired former FBI director James Comey is scheduled to make another public appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee after Memorial Day. Comey insisted that he wanted to testify in public, ramping up speculation about what he has to say — particularly about how Donald Trump may have interfered in FBI investigations. Comey appears to have a lot of friends, and as the date approaches, it seems that every one of them is eager to turn up the heat just … one … more … notch.
A friend of James Comey said Tuesday that if he were President Donald Trump he would be scared of the former FBI director's pending testimony.
"I found it interesting and very telling that (Comey) declined any opportunity to tell his story in private," Benjamin Wittes, who describes himself as a Comey confidant, told CNN's Anderson Cooper on "AC360."
According to Wittes, the infamous dinner in which Trump pressured Comey to shut down the investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn reframed other occasions where Trump tried get the upper hand on Comey. And made it clear that Comey had genuine concerns about Trump and his attempts to influence the FBI.
Wittes: "This is a guy with a story to tell. I think if I were Donald Trump, that would scare me a lot.”
So far the public hearings on Trump–Russia, including Comey’s first public appearance before the House Intelligence Committee and John Brennan’s appearance this Tuesday, have certainly pointed up that this is a very real issue well deserving of investigation. That Wittes and others are playing up the potential impact of Comey’s upcoming testimony is certainly exciting. However, with Special Counsel Richard Mueller also cranking up his investigation, there’s a chance that Comey may be more subdued than expected so that he doesn’t step on information critical to Mueller.