House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday that it was “obviously” not appropriate for President Donald Trump to ask James Comey for “loyalty” after prepared testimony by the fired FBI director alleges the president did just that.
In a statement released Wednesday by the Senate Intelligence Committee, Comey said Trump asked for his loyalty during a one-on-one dinner at the White House. Comey said he replied that he could offer honesty. When asked if it was appropriate for the president to be asking the FBI director for such loyalty, Ryan told MSNBC’s Greta Van Susteren, “No, obviously, I don’t think that is.” Ryan said Comey “will probably get a lot of questions about that tomorrow.”
But the speaker hedged that the reporting was not “new” and said no one should “prejudge” anything, but follow where the facts lead. NBC News and other media outlets reported last month that Trump had asked Comey for a loyalty pledge and that the former director replied what he could offer was honesty.
