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CBS News: Former FBI Director James Comey Can Testify Before Congress About Trump Conversations

WASHINGTON (CBSNewYork/CBS News) -Former FBI Director James Comey can testify before Congress about his interactions with President Donald Trump, CBS News reported.

Comey got clearance to testify before Congress after speaking with special counsel Robert Mueller, who's investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election, CBS News reported.

CBS News previously reported that Comey kept memos after meeting with the president, and those memos detailed the president asking Comey for his loyalty and to drop the investigation into Michael Flynn.

Comey is expected to testify about his memos, which detail a conversation in which Trump reportedly told Comey "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy."

A source told CBS News Comey will remain available to Mueller and investigators.

The Senate Intelligence Committee is hoping to have Comey testify next week, but no official date as been set.

Comey's firing set off a firestorm of criticism. The White House initially said that Trump fired Comey after receiving a memo from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. But the president said he had previously decided to fire Comey and that he thought about the investigation into his campaign and Russia before firing him. Trump then told Russian diplomats that Comey was a "nut job" and firing him relieved great pressure on him, CBS News reported.

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