Viewers will be able to watch James Comey’s Congress testimony live online on Monday and see if the FBI director confirms an investigation into the alleged collusion between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russian intelligence officials.
Comey is set to appear before the House Intelligence Committee on Monday at 10 a.m. ET to publicly address claims from Trump that Barack Obama had “wire tapped” Trump’s phone in Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential campaign. Since making the explosive claim on Twitter, Trump has presented no evidence to back it up, even as a number of members of Congress have stepped forward to say there is no substance to the allegation.
Those who watch James Comey’s testimony live online will see lawmakers press for a definitive answer on whether Obama wiretapped Trump.
“This could be high drama,” Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told Newsday . “I have no idea where this hearing is going to end up at the end of the day.”
Who is James Comey? https://t.co/Eppev0K7Gv via the @FoxNews Android app
— Arthur J. Jacobs Sr. (@ArthurJacobsS) March 20, 2017
As the report noted, the subject of a potential FBI investigation into Donald Trump’s possible ties with Russia during the 2016 campaign will almost assuredly be raised.
“The committee members also will press Comey on whether the FBI has probed or discovered evidence that Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia or that the Obama administration illegally leaked surveillance transcripts for political purposes,” the report noted.
The rumors of collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russian intelligence officials have been circulating since late in the 2016 campaign, and were laid bare in a dossier compiled by a former British MI6 agent. The dossier claimed that Russian officials have been working for years to groom Trump as a candidate, compiling compromising material to use as blackmail and offering him lucrative financial deals. The report also alleged coordination between Trump’s campaign and Russian intelligence officials for the release of emails stolen from Hillary Clinton’s campaign chief and from the Democratic National committee, a revelation that damaged Clinton politically.
Though most of the allegations in the dossier remain unverified, several points have been shown to be true, and a number of members of Trump’s inner circle during the campaign have been found to be in close contact with Russia during the campaign.
It is likely that much of the discussion will center on Trump’s wiretapping allegation. Members of the committee have already met with James Comey behind closed doors, and afterward the members said there is no evidence to Donald Trump’s claims that Barack Obama wiretapped his Trump Tower.
But California Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, the chair of the committee, said during an appearance on Fox News Sunday that there could be evidence of other surveillance of Trump’s campaign.
“The president doesn’t go and physically wiretap something,” he said. “But the other issue out there is the unmasking of names, the leaking of names. That happened to [former National Security Adviser] Michael Flynn. The concern we have is: Are there any other surveillance activities in the unmasking of names?”
James Comey & Michael Rogers Testify at House Select Intelligence Com. on Russian Election Interference @ 10 AM EST tomorrow on C Span. pic.twitter.com/QU03fSJF5A
— SNOWFLAKE (@jawja100) March 20, 2017
But some members may press harder on the Russia investigation.
Even if James Comey is unable to divulge much information about a potential investigation into connections between Donald Trump and Russia, there could be another chance less than two weeks later. The U.S. Senate intelligence committee announced that they will be holding a hearing on March 30 regarding Russian activities during the 2016 election, Fox News reported. The hearing will include a panel of witnesses about the history of Russian interference in elections and another panel on Russia’s use of cyber attacks.
Those who want to watch James Comey’s testimony to the House Intelligence Committee live online can click here for streaming video.
[Featured Image by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]
