PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon senators participated and watched closely as former FBI Director James Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday morning.
Sen. Ron Wyden was among those asking the tough questions, getting answers the American people have waited to hear.
“All in one dinner, the president raised your job prospects, and asked for your loyalty that all took place over one supper?” Wyden asked Comey.
Wyden raised questions about why Comey didn’t speak with Attorney General Jeff Sessions even when the president asked him to.
“Our judgement that he was close to and going to recuse himself for a variety of reasons and things I can’t discuss but his work in a Russian related issue would be problematic,” Comey said.
Sen. Jeff Merkley spoke with KATU News shortly after the hearing, calling Comey’s testimony powerful.
“The summation is a very straight-forward account of Trump pressuring Comey to drop the investigation into Flynn and he said it as a directive that he chose to ignore,” Sen. Merkley said.
His hope is to get some concrete answers about Russia and if they tampered with the 2016 presidential election.
“If someone did collude with the Russians or direct coordination with the Russians whether the president or people under him that’s treasonous conduct and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Sen. Merkley said.
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