Comey Testimony Thread

CHRIS MATTHEWS: I think the headlines in terms of wire service coverage is he called the president a liar. I think that's a headline. He also said the reason he memorialized everything, wrote memos after every meeting because he thought the president would lie about it. He also said I'd like to see any tapes played. If there are any White House tapes he wants them played.

The bigger story, Nicole touched on it there, the assumption of the president's critics, his pursuers you might say, is that some time in the last year, the president had something to do with colluding with the Russians --something to do, a helping hand, to feeding their desire to affect the election in some way. Some role they played. Some conversation with Michael Flynn or Paul Manafort.

But yet what came apart this morning was that theory.

Two regards, the president said, according to the written tell me of Mr. Comey: Go ahead and get anybody satellite to my operation and nail them. I'm with you on that. That would mean Manafort, Carter Page, somebody like that.

And then what was fascinating, Comey said that basically Flynn wasn't central to the Russia investigation, that he was touching on it. Of course, Flynn wasn't honest in the answering of the official forms to become national security head, but they only touched on that, that it wasn't related to that but that he could be flipped for that. In other words, they could flip him because they had him on something he dishonestly answered, but it wasn't central to the Russia thing.

I always assumed what Trump was afraid of he had something to Flynn and Flynn could be flipped on that, and Flynn would testify against the president that he had some conversation with Flynn in terms of dealing with the Russians affirmatively. And if that's not the case, where's the there there?

If it isn't Manafort, because he wants to throw him under the bus, and Flynn wasn't central, where is the concern that Trump has that has put him on defense for these months? That's my question coming out of the morning hearing.