Russiagate Blows Wide Open and Comey Agrees to Testify

Tuesday, the New York Times reported that Trump asked Comey to shut down the FBI’s investigation into his then National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

The Times cited a memo Comey reportedly wrote after the February meeting with Trump, which took place the day after Flynn resigned.

Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee (who has announced he will resign next month due to a “mid-life crisis”) responded by demanding that the FBI turn over all “memoranda, notes, summaries, and recordings” of any conversations between Trump and Comey.

Trump denied the allegation that he asked Comey to halt the investigation two days later, at a press conference alongside Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

The Times also reported Tuesday that Israel was the source of the classified information Trump shared with the Russian Ambassador and Foreign Minister.

This could further complicate the U.S. relationship with Israel, whose government had reportedly already urged American officials to be careful handling the intelligence Trump shared.

The revelation also came at a less-than-ideal time for the President, who embarks on his first overseas trip this weekend to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Italy, and Belgium.

The trip has largely been overshadowed by a firehose of news, much of it a direct result of Trump’s behavior.

The administration dispatched National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster to attempt to address the intelligence-sharing controversy, although he seemed to confirm the Times’ reporting by issuing a carefully worded statement at a press conference and refusing to deny that Trump shared classified information.