Senate

Wyden calls Comey statement ‘Watergate-level material’

by Rebecca Savransky - 06/08/17 7:34 AM ET

Ron Wyden to @maddow: "That is Watergate-level material." https://t.co/Xjr2Jv9Lzp

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 8, 2017

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) late Wednesday drew comparisons between President Trump’s alleged attempts to interfere in the FBI’s probe into Russian election meddling and the Watergate scandal.

Wyden was asked on MSNBC about the prepared opening statement former FBI Director James Comey is set to deliver Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

“If what Director Comey says in his opening statement is true, if the president directly urged him to drop the investigation into [former national security adviser] Mike Flynn,” host Rachel Maddow said.

{mosads}”That is Watergate-level material,” Wyden interjected. “That particular point you’re making about Mike Flynn. It’s just that serious.”

In another interview on CNN, Wyden was pressed on whether he believes Trump may have obstructed justice.

“That’s going to be a topic for lawyers,” he said. “But I’ll tell you, if it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it just might be a duck.”

Trump repeatedly sought to influence the FBI’s investigation into Russian election meddling before firing Comey, according to testimony released by the former FBI director on Wednesday.

Comey’s riveting opening statement details multiple interactions with the president, including a January dinner at the White House where Trump said he needed and expected the FBI director’s loyalty.

The one-on-one dinner, Comey said he felt, was an attempt to create “some sort of patronage relationship” with the president — something that “concerned me greatly, given the FBI’s traditionally independent status.”

Tags Ron Wyden