Former FBI Director James Comey testified before Congress on Thursday morning.
He spoke on a range of issues, from President Donald Trumps decision to fire him from the FBI to the ongoing investigation into Russias interference in the past presidential election, according to the Associated Press.
You can read the full text of his testimony at Politico.
Comey said in the hearing that the Trump administration chose to defame him and the FBI using lies, plain and simple.
The event had some major moments throughout.
He spoke on a range of issues, from President Donald Trumps decision to fire him from the FBI to the ongoing investigation into Russias interference in the past presidential election, according to the Associated Press.
You can read the full text of his testimony at Politico.
Comey said in the hearing that the Trump administration chose to defame him and the FBI using lies, plain and simple.
The event had some major moments throughout.
- According to NBC News, Comey said Trump lied about the reasons of his firing. Comey said that he felt confused and concerned about why he was fired in May. Trump told Comey he was fired because he negatively impacted morale in the FBI.
- As NPR reported, Comey said he was confused to hear Trump say Comey was fired for the Russian investigation.
- Comeys big quote: "So it confused me when I saw on television the president saying he actually fired me because of the Russia investigation and learned again from the media that he was telling, privately, other parties that my firing had relieved 'great pressure' on the Russia investigation.
- Comey said that the FBI thought Attorney General Jeff Sessions would remove himself from the Russian investigation for a variety of the reasons, according to the Associated Press.
Other moments garnered a lot of social media attention.
Comey said he had to cancel date night with his wife so he could go to dinner with Trump.
Comey said that he leaked his memos to a friend in hopes that it would lead to a special prosecutor, according to NBC News.
"I asked a friend of mine to share the content of a memo with the reporter, I didnt do it myself for a variety of reasons, but I asked him to because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel," he said.
When asked why he didnt leak more information to the media, he said, "I worried it would be like feeding seagulls at the beach.
That set off the media.
Comey didn't mince words about Russias impact on the U.S. election. He said, "There should be no fuzz on this whatsoever. The Russians interfered in our election."
The phrase no fuzz went viral.
Comey continually answered questions by saying he cant answer them in public, which also attracted attention online.
On May 12, Trump tweeted that he hoped there werent any tapes of his conversations with Comey. On Thursday, Comey said he hoped there were tapes. I saw the tweet about tapes. Lordy, I hope there are tapes, he said.
The word Lordy had Twitter talking, too.
Celebrities tweeted about the testimony, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Late-night hosts of The Daily Show, Late Night With Seth Meyers, and Full Frontal With Samantha Bee all tweeted about the testimony.