Aware of Democratic criticisms, Comey urged Congress and the public not

to draw comparisons between his extensive public comments on the

Clinton inquiry, arguing that they concerned details of a completed
investigation, although in the days before the election Comey publicly
stated newly inquired information from an ongoing inquiry might affect the
Clinton investigation something that ultimately did not happen.

In his testimony, Comey remarked on the bluntness of the Russian

intelligence intervention in the election, which he described as unusually
loud, as if the Russians did not care if they were caught, or even wanted to
be caught. The aim, he suggested was freaking people out that the
Russians might have been undermining our elections successfully.

Splits between the Republican and Democratic membership were evident

from the very start of the hearing. Chairman Devin Nunes, a Republican
and a member of Trumps transition team, sought to put the emphasis on
leaks from the intelligence agencies about the investigation, and
particularly in the contacts between the former national security adviser
Michael Flynn and the Russian ambassador to Washington.

The ranking Democrat on the committee, Adam Schiff, used his 15-minute
opening statement to outline a prosecutorial case laying out all the known
or reported contacts between members of the Trump campaign team and
Russian officials, most of which had been denied by the Trump camp.

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