Former director of the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation James Comey testified on Thursday before the Senate about meetings between himself and U.S. President Donald Trump and about the Russian involvement in last year's election, in which Trump was elected.
"I take the president at his word — that I was fired because of the Russia investigation. Something about the way I was conducting it," Comey told the Senate, "the president felt, created pressure on him that he wanted to relieve."
Other parts of Comey's testimony raise questions regarding whether Trump committed the crime of obstruction of justice by attempting to end the FBI's investigation of his former advisor Michael Flynn.
"The president never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone," Mr. Trump's lawyer, Marc E. Kasowitz, told the public.
Trump fired Comey about a month ago, on May 9.  Officially, he was dismissed for mishandling the Hillary Clinton email scandal, according to the U.S. Justice Department, and for investigating alleged ties between Trump's presidential campaign and the Russian government, according to President Trump. Of Trump's claims that Comey was fired because he'd done a poor job of running the FBI and that his subordinates did not trust him, Comey said, "Those were lies, plain and simple."

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Former U.S. FBI Director James Comey testifies about President Trump