WASHINGTON (AP) — Former FBI Director James Comey will say in his opening statement to a congressional hearing that President Donald Trump told him, “I need loyalty. I expect loyalty” during a January dinner.
Comey is set to testify before the Senate Intelligence committee Thursday. His prepared statement was released Wednesday afternoon.
In the statement, Comey says he and Trump dined together privately in January. During the meal, he says Trump asked him if he wanted to remain on as FBI director. Comey says he replied that he wanted to serve out his ten-year term and “was not on anybody’s side politically.”
Comey says Trump then made his statement about loyalty. Read Comey’s opening statements as prepared below.
Trump abruptly fired Comey last month.
