Early in James Comey’s testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Mark Warner asked one of the questions raised by Comey’s written statement. After Comey’s first meeting with Donald Trump, at which he briefed Trump on the Steele dossier, “What was it about that meeting that led you to determine that you needed to start putting down a written record?” Comey’s answer was a bombshell:
A combination of things. I think the circumstances, the subject matter, and the person I was interacting with. The circumstances, first I was alone with the president of the United States, or the president-elect, soon to be president.
The subject matter, I was talking about matters that touch on the FBI’s core responsibility and that relate to the president-elect personally.
And then the nature of the person. I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting and so I thought it really important to document.
That combination of things I never experienced before but it led me to believe I got to write it down and write it down in a very detailed way.
“The nature of the person. I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting.” That’s the president.