A local Anti-Trump organization plans to gather Thursday to watch the broadcast of fired FBI Director James Comey testifying before the Senate committee.
Members of Indivisible San Diego will get together for a viewing of the hearing in which Comey will testify that President Donald Trump sought his “loyalty” and urged him to stop investigating Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn.
The statement Comey submitted to the Senate intelligence committee detailing his one-on-one interactions with Trump was released Wednesday.
Kara Rogers, of Indivisible San Diego, said watching the hearing as it unfolds is critical.
“On a scale of one to 10, [it’s] probably a 10,” she told NBC 7. “It’s fundamental to understanding what’s going to happen to our country.”
Rogers said she has altered her schedule Thursday just to watch the hearing. She’s working at 4 a.m. and plans to take time off during the middle of the day to watch Comey’s testimony.
“I’m not expecting a full smoking gun, but I think he will lead to – this will lead us to – be able to potentially question whether he tried to impede the investigations,” she said. “About how many times he asked for loyalty.”
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Kathy Stadler, also of Indivisible San Diego, will be watching the hearing too. She’s bracing herself for a lengthy viewing session – and that’s okay.
“This is one of the critical moments in our country’s history where we are about to get to the bottom of something we’ve all suspected has been there for quite some time,” Stadler told NBC 7. “I think any president can be expected to know when he asks the Director of the FBI to back off on an investigation of possible treason, that that’s obstruction of justice.”
Across the nation, all eyes will be on Comey. According to “Business Insider,” some bars in Washington D.C., San Francisco, and Houston plan to open for business early Thursday to screen Comey’s testimony, which is set to begin at 7 a.m. PT.
On Trump’s end, his outside counsel released this statement Wednesday: “The President is pleased that Mr. Comey has finally publicly confirmed his private reports that the President was not under investigation in any Russian probe. The President feels completely and totally vindicated. He is eager to continue to move forward with his agenda."
