CRITICAL MOMENT FOR THE TRUMP 
PRESIDENCY AND WE HAVE JUST 
GOTTEN SOME PAPER THAT HAS 
LANDED IN OUR LAPS TODAY BEING 
THE EVE OF THE TESTIMONY FROM 
FIRED FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY 
IN WHICH HE DETAILS MULTIPLE 
BRIEFINGS, MULTIPLE EVENTS WITH 
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED 
STATES AND SO THIS HAS JUST COME
OUT.
IT'S THE OPENING STATEMENT FOR 
HIS TESTIMONY TOMORROW.
AND SO WE'RE JUST GOING TO ALL 
DO THIS TOGETHER LIVE.
I'M GOING TO READ FOR YOU -- 
THAT'S HOW WE ROLL AT CNN -- I'M
GOING TO READ FOR YOU FROM MR. 
COMEY'S STATEMENT AHEAD OF 
TOMORROW.
LET'S BEGIN.
AND I HAVE A PANEL THAT WILL 
DISSECT ALL OF THIS AS WE GO 
THROUGH.
THIS IS JANUARY 27th DINNER.
THIS IS WHAT MR. COMEY WRITES.
THE PRESIDENT AND I HAD DINNER 
ON FRIDAY JANUARY 27th AT 6:30 
P.M. IN THE GREEN ROOM AT THE 
WHITE HOUSE.
HE HAD CALLED ME AT LUNCHTIME 
THAT DAY AND INVITED ME TO 
DINNER THAT NIGHT SAYING HE WAS 
GOING TO INVITE MY WHOLE FAMILY 
BUT DECIDED TO HAVE JUST ME THIS
TIME.
WITH THE WHOLE FAMILY COMING THE
NEXT TIME.
IT WAS UNCLEAR FROM THE 
CONVERSATION WHO ELSE WOULD BE 
AT THE DINNER, ALTHOUGH I 
ASSUMED THERE WOULD BE OTHERS.
IT TURNED OUT TO BE JUST THE TWO
OF US SEATED AT A SMALL TABLE IN
THE GREEN ROOM.
TWO NAVY STEWARDS WAITED ON US.
THE PRESIDENT BEGAN BY ASKING ME
WHETHER I WANTED TO STAY ON AS 
FBI DIRECTOR, WHICH I FOUND 
STRANGE BECAUSE HE HAD ALREADY 
TOLD ME TWICE IN EARLIER 
CONVERSATIONS THAT HE HOPED I 
WOULD STAY.
AND I HAD ASSURED HIM THAT I 
INTENDED TO.
HE SAID THAT LOTS OF PEOPLE 
WANTED MY JOB AND, GIVEN THE 
ABUSE I HAD TAKEN DURING THE 
PREVIOUS YEAR, HE WOULD 
UNDERSTAND IF I WANTED TO WALK 
AWAY.
JAMES COMEY GOES ON.
MY INSTINCTS TOLD ME THAT THE 
ONE-ON-ONE SETTING AND THE 
PRETENSE THAT THIS WAS OUR FIRST
DISCUSSION ABOUT MY POSITION 
MEANT THE DINNER WAS AT LEAST IN
PART AN EFFORT TO HAVE ME ASK 
FOR MY JOB AND CREATE SOME SORT 
OF PATRONAGE RELATIONSHIP.
THAT CONCERNED ME GREATLY, GIVEN
THE FBI'S TRADITIONALLY 
INDEPENDENT STATUS IN THE 
EXECUTIVE BRANCH.
I RELIED THAT I LOVE MY WORK AND
INTENDED TO STAY AND SERVE OUT 
MY TENURE TERM AS DIRECTOR.
AND THEN, BECAUSE THE SETUP MADE
ME UNEASY, I ADDED THAT I WAS 
NOT, QUOTE, RELIABLE IN THE WAY 
POLITICIANS USE THAT WORD BUT HE
COULD ALWAYS COUNT ON ME TO TELL
THE TRUTH.
I ADDED THAT I WAS NOT ON 
ANYBODY'S SIDE POLITICALLY AND 
COULD NOT BE COUNTED ON IN THE 
TRADITIONAL POLITICAL SENSE, A 
STANCE THAT I WAS IN THE BEST 
INTEREST OF THE PRESIDENT.
A FEW MOMENTS LATER, THE 
PRESIDENT SAID, AND I'M QUOTING 
JAMES COMEY, I NEED LOYALTY.
I EXPECT LOYALTY.
I DIDN'T MOVE, SPEAK OR CHANGE 
MY FACIAL EXPRESSION IN ANY WAY 
DURING THE AWKWARD SILENCE THAT 
FOLLOWED.
WE SIMPLY LOOKED AT EACH OTHER 
IN SILENCE.
THE CONVERSATION THEN MOVED ON.
BUT HE RETURNED TO THE SUBJECT 
NEAR THE END OF OUR DINNER.
AT ONE POINT I EXPLAINED WHY THE
FBI AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT WAS 
SEPARATE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE.
I EXPLAINED IT WAS A PARADOCKS 
THAT BECAUSE PROBLEMS COME FROM 
JUSTICE THEY SHOULD TRY TO HOLD 
THE DEPARTMENT CLOSE BUT 
BLURRING THOSE BOUNDARIES 
ULTIMATELY MAKES THE PROBLEMS 
WORSE BY UNDERMINING PUBLIC 
TRUST IN THE INSTITUTIONS AND 
THEIR WORK.
NEAR THE END OF OUR DINNER, THE 
PRESIDENT RETURNED TO THE 
SUBJECT OF MY JOB SAYING HE WAS 
VERY GLAD I WANTED TO STAY, 
ADDING THAT HE HAD HEARD GREAT 
THINGS ABOUT ME FROM JIM MATTIS,
JEFF SESSIONS AND MANY OTHERS.
HE THEN SAID, "I NEED LOYALTY."
I REPLIED, "YOU WILL ALWAYS GET 
HONESTY FROM ME."
HE PAUSED AND HE SAID, THAT'S 
WHAT I WANT, HONEST LOYALTY.
I PAUSED AND THEN SAID YOU WILL 
GET THAT FROM ME.
AS I WROTE IN THE MEMO, I 
CREATED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE 
DINNER, IT IS POSSIBLE WE 
UNDERSTOOD THE PHRASE HONEST 
LOYALTY DIFFERENTLY.
BUT I DECIDED IT WOULDN'T BE 
PRODUCTIVE TO PUSH IT FURTHER.
THE TERM HONEST LOYALTY HAD 
HELPED END A VERY AWKWARD 
CONVERSATION AND MY EXPLANATIONS
HAD MADE IT CLEAR WHAT HE SHOULD
EXPECT.
DURING THE DINNER, THE PRESIDENT
RETURNED TO THE SALACIOUS 
MATERIAL I HAD BRIEFED HIM ON 
JANUARY 6th AND HE STRONGLY 
DENIED THE ALLEGATIONS.
IN CLOSING IN THIS SECTION, "HE 
SAID HE WAS CONSIDERING ORDERING
ME TO INVESTIGATE THE ALLEGED 
INCIDENT TO PROVE IT DIDN'T 
HAPPEN.
I REPLIED THAT HE SHOULD GIVE 
THAT CAREFUL THOUGHT BECAUSE IT 
MIGHT CREATE A NARRATIVE THAT 
WE'RE INVESTIGATING HIM 
PERSONALLY, WHICH WE WEREN'T, 
AND BECAUSE IT WAS VERY 
DIFFICULT TO PROVE A NEGATIVE.
HE SAID HE WOULD THINK ABOUT IT 
AND ASK ME TO THINK ABOUT IT.
AS WAS MY PRACTICE WITH 
CONVERSATIONS WITH PRESIDENT 
TRUMP, I WROTE A DETAILED MEMO 
ABOUT THE DINNER IMMEDIATELY 
AFTERWARDS AND SHARED IT WITH 
THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP OF THE 
