Former FBI Director James Comey arrived on Capitol Hill Monday for round two of questions with lawmakers as he continues to be a target of President Donald Trump's ire.
Comey smiled as he walked down the hallway but didn't respond to questions about the investigation into former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
One Republican warned him that tough questions awaited him behind-closed-doors.
Former FBI Director James Comey arrived on Capitol Hill Monday for round two of questions with lawmakers
Comey is expected to be asked about the investigation of former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn
California Republican Rep. Darrel Issa said he will be asking Comey about Flynn
'Tomorrow is going to be a very different day for Comey, particularly in light of what we've learned - the misconduct during the Flynn investigation was all about, thanks to a judge that demanded to understand what happened,' outgoing Republican Rep. Darrell Issa said on Sunday.
Issa sits on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is questioning Comey along with members of the House Judiciary Committee.
Additionally lawmakers are expected to question former Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
Comey superseded Lynch when he declared the Clinton email probe closed and then informed congressional leaders days before the 2016 election that it had been reopened.
The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee and its expected chairman in the New Year, Elijah Cummings, cast the hearings, however, as a 'waste of the taxpayer's money' to keep hearing the same answers from Comey over and over again.
He said he has 'no reason to believe' that Comey and the FBI mishandled its questioning of former National Security Adviser to the president Michael Flynn, either.
Comey's handling of the Flynn probe is new territory for the committee, following the ex-White House official's accusations that the Department of Justice had tricked their client into lying.
Prosecutors swatted back at Flynn in a court document in which they suggested they could revise their recommendation that he serve little to no jail time in exchange for their cooperation.
Trump said that he got a 'great deal' because DOJ was embarrassed by the way that it treated Flynn, a retired general, in the first place.
On Monday, Cummings' colleague Mark Meadows, a conservative Republican, said as the meetings with Comey began that the former FBI director's public statements and his testimony when compared 'don't seem to reconcile' and it was necessary to bring him back in.
President Trump has preserved with his attacks on the former FBI director as the Russia investigation remains in the spotlight and the president's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, was sentenced to three years in prison.
He slammed Comey after his last round with lawmakers and went after him again shortly after his Oval Office blowup with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.
Comey had testified before Congress that the president asked him for 'loyalty' and to let go an investigation into Flynn over his Russia contacts.
Issa said on Sunday he believed the FBI had 'tricked' Trump's former National Security Adviser into not having a lawyer during a January 2017 interview.
Since Comey's last sit down, a the special counsel's office released memos from the FBI about Flynn's interview when he lied about the content of calls with then-Russian ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak.
Flynn later admitted he lied to federal authorities but alleged in a court filling last week that the FBI pushed him toward having no lawyer present for his January 2017 interview with agents.
President Trump continues to target the former FBI director
Trump tweeted late on Monday night: 'James Comey's behind closed doors testimony reveals that 'there was not evidence of Campaign Collusion' with Russia when he left the FBI. In other words, the Witch Hunt is illegal and should never have been started!'
Since Comey's last sit down, a the special counsel's office released memos from the FBI about Flynn's interview when he lied to agents about his Russia dealings
Asked about the contents of these conversations during the interview at his office in the White House in the days following Trump's inauguration, Flynn told agents he did not discuss sanctions with Kislyak.
However an audio recording of the December 29, 2016 phone call, which was tapped by U.S. intelligence officials, proved he had.
Flynn is scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday, the first former White House official to face the judge.
Some Republicans - including Trump - claim the FBI initially didn't believe Flynn lied to them about his dealings with Russians.
Comey was asked about Flynn in his last appearance before lawmakers and pushed back on that notion.
'My recollection was he was - the conclusion of the investigators was he was obviously lying, but they saw none of the normal common indicia of deception: that is, hesitancy to answer, shifting in seat, sweating, all the things that you might associate with someone who is conscious and manifesting that they are being -- they're telling falsehoods,' he said. 'There's no doubt he was lying, but that those indicators weren't there.'
Last week special counsel Robert Mueller's office said that Flynn's cooperation - including 19 meetings with investigators - was so extensive that he was entitled to avoid prison when he is sentenced.
Comey spent six hours being questioned by lawmakers earlier this month about the bureau's actions in the 2016 presidential election, including the investigation of Hillary Clinton's private email server, the infamous Christopher Steele dossier, and the probe of Russia's actions in the campaign.
On Saturday, lawmakers released a 235-page transcript of the first part of Comey's interview, which led to a tweet from President Donald Trump.
'James Comey's behind closed doors testimony reveals that 'there was not evidence of Campaign Collusion' with Russia when he left the FBI. In other words, the Witch Hunt is illegal and should never have been started!,' he wrote on Monday.
Former FBI boss James Comey talks to reporters after his last closed-door meeting with lawmakers
Comey tweeted his last interview with lawmakers 'wasn't a search for the truth'
Lawmakers, however, expressed frustration at the many questions the former FBI director was not able to answer.
Comey offered his own assessment of the hearing, tweeting that the interview 'wasn't a search for truth, but a desperate attempt to find anything that can be used to attack the institutions of justice investigating this president. They came up empty today but will try again. In the long run, it'll make no difference because facts are stubborn things.'
Monday is likely to be Comey's last sit down before the GOP-led House, as incoming Judiciary Chairman - Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler - he has no interest in continuing the matter once Democrats take power in January.
Additionally Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy, the current chair of the Oversight committee, and GOP Rep. Bob Goodlatte, the current chair of the Judiciary committee, are joining Issa in retiring from Congress.
That means some of Comey's fiercest critics will lose their perch at the end of the year.
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/12/17/comey-on-capitol-hill-for-round-two-of-questions-after-new-details-emerge-about-michael-flynn/
Main photo article Former FBI Director James Comey arrived on Capitol Hill Monday for round two of questions with lawmakers as he continues to be a target of President Donald Trump‘s ire.
Comey smiled as he walked down the hallway but didn’t respond to questions about the investigation into former...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/12/17/17/7530584-6504663-image-m-23_1545066412933.jpg
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