In March 2017, FBI Director James Comey abruptly and unexpectedly made the decision to testify before the House Intelligence Committee. During Comey’s opening statement to Congress, he confirmed that the FBI was “investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia’s efforts.” Comey also claimed that “we have taken the extraordinary step … of briefing this Congress’s leaders, including the leaders of this committee, in a classified setting in detail about the investigation.”
Although Comey called his briefing to congressional leadership “extraordinary,” it wasn’t—the briefing was legally required. It’s also important to note that Comey was very careful not to specify when that Congressional notification had occurred. As we shall see, this matter of timing is of some importance….