GOP senator: No proof of obstruction in Comey statement

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said on Thursday he would not say President Trump obstructed justice during his meetings with then-FBI Director James Comey.

“A couple of reasons why I would say no to that,” Lankford, who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told NBC’s Savannah Guthrie on the “Today” show.

{mosads}“One is again Comey comes back and says it was awkward, it was uncomfortable, especially that time in February, it was February the 14th in particular, in his conversation about Michael Flynn to say can we let this go,” he said.

“But he also, Comey at that same moment said he was not pressured to stop the Russia investigation. He was not pressured to back off anyone else. He felt like it was just about Flynn not about the rest,” the senator continued.

“That’s very different.”

The former FBI director released his opening testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, saying the president had sought to influence the federal probe into Russian election meddling.

Comey said the president privately asked him to “let go” of the FBI investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who had resigned the day before amid reports he had misled Vice President Pence regarding his conversations with the Russian ambassador.