President Donald Trump speaks on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin in January with, from second from left, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Vice President Mike Pence, White House press secretary Sean Spicer and National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Picture: AP /Andrew Harnik

Mr Comey — who was sensationally sacked by Mr Trump on May 9 — has taken the stand in a crucial Senate hearing, repeating explosive allegations that US President Donald Trump badgered him over the highly sensitive investigation Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.

Former FBI Director James Comey arrives to testify during a US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LIED, DEFAMED FBI

Mr Comey said Mr Trump’s administration spread “lies, plain and simple” and “defamed” him and the FBI.

Mr Comey said he was “confused” by the explanation that his decisions during the 2016 election was the reason he was fired by Mr Trump.

Former FBI Director James Comey testifies. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

“The explanations … the shifting explanations confused me and increasingly concerned me. They confused me because the president and I had had multiple conversations about my job both before and after he took office, and he had repeatedly told me I was doing a great job and hoped I would stay,” he said. “It confused me when I saw on television the president say he actually fired me because of the Russia investigation and learned again from the media that he was telling privately other parties that my firing had relieved great pressure on the Russia investigation.”

Former FBI Director James Comey testifies during a US Senate Select Committee. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

“I was also confused by the initial explanation offered publicly that I was fired because of the decisions I had made during the election year - that didn’t make sense to me,” he said. “That didn’t make sense to me for a whole bunch of reasons including the time and all of the water that had gone under the bridge since those hard decisions that had to be made. That didn’t make any sense to me,’ he said. “And although the law required no reason at all to fire an FBI director the administration then chose to defame me, and more importantly, the FBI, by saying the organisation was in disarray. That it was poorly led. That the workforce had lost confidence in its leader. Those were lies plain and simple”

COMEY TOOK NOTES BECAUSE HE FEARED TRUMP WOULD LIE

Mr Comey said after his first meeting with Mr Trump, he had a “gut feeling” that he should start taking notes of what was said in order to “protect the FBI”, something he never did with former presidents Obama or Bush.

When asked why he felt that was necessary, he replied, “a combination of things; I think the circumstances, the subject matter and the person I was interacting with.”

Democrats Senator Dianne Feinstein (L), Democrat Senator Mark Warner (C) and Vice Chairman, Intelligence Committee and Republican Senator Richard Burr (R), Chairman, Intelligence Committee prepare before former FBI Director James Comey. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

“The circumstances first; I was alone with the president-elect of the United States, soon to be president. The subject matter that I was talking about, matters that touch on the FBI’s core responsibility that relate to the president-elect personally. And then the nature of the person. I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting and so I thought it really important to document. And the combination of things I’d never experienced before that had led me to believe I’ve gotta right it down and I’ve got to write it down in a very detailed way.”

Mr Trump wanted Mr Comey to publicly state the private assurance he had given to the President that he was not the subject of any FBI probe amid widespread reports he was susceptible to blackmail for using Russian prostitutes.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with FBI Director James Comey during a reception for law enforcement officers in the Blue Room of the White House on January 22. Picture: Alex Brandon .Source:AP

Mr Comey told Mr Trump on three occasions there was no FBI investigation into the President and in his statement he reveals the pair’s conversations in awkward detail.

“The President said, “I need loyalty, I expect loyalty,” Mr Comey says of a January 27 dinner, in a written statement released ahead of his appearance before the hearing today.

“I didn’t move, speak, or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed. We simply looked at each other in silence.”

Mr Comey said he tried to settle the conversation by instead pledging “loyalty”, to which Mr Trump replied: “That’s what I want, honest loyalty”.

COMEY ‘STUNNED’ TRUMP ASKED HIM TO DROP FLYNN PROBE

Mr Comey said he was “stunned” when Mr Trump asked him to drop the bureau’s probe into ex-national security adviser Mike Flynn.

“I was so stunned by the conversation,” he said.

Donald Trump (L) asked James Comey to drop the investigation into Michael Flynn. Picture: GettySource:Supplied

Asked by Democrat Senator Diane Feinstein why he just didn’t tell Mr Trump the conversation was inappropriate, Mr Comey said he probably should have.

“Maybe other people would be strong in that circumstance. I hope I never have another opportunity, [but] maybe if I did it again I would do it better,” he replied.

Instead, he only said, “I agree that Flynn was a good guy.”

KUSHNER BACK CHANNEL WOULD HAVE AIDED RUSSIA

Mr Comey also said Mr Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner would have helped Russian intelligence efforts if he had succeeded in setting up a “back-channel” line of communication with the Kremlin.

Jared Kushner, son-in-law and senior aide to US President Donald Trump. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

“The primary risk is obvious. You spare the Russians the cost and effort of having to break into our communication by using theirs and so make it a whole lot easier for them to capture all of your conversations and to use those to the benefit of Russia against the United States,” he said.

Mr Kushner is a person of interest in the special counsel’s criminal probe into Russia’s meddling in the election.

He allegedly approached Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and inquired about establishing the line of communications using equipment at the Russian embassy.

COMEY LEAKED TRUMP MEETING MEMOS

Mr Comey admitted that he leaked his personal notes on his meetings with President Donald Trump to prompt the naming of a special prosecutor to lead the Russia probe.

He said he asked a friend at Columbia Law School to share his written recollection of those conversations with a reporter after Trump fired him on May 9.

Former FBI Director James Comey testifies before the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

“I didn’t do it myself for a variety of reasons,” Mr Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee. “But I asked him to, because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel” to conduct the investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible collusion with Russian meddling in the 2016 election, he said.

The New York Times published a report on the Comey memo on May 16, and the following day former FBI director Robert Mueller was named special counsel to take over the investigation.

professor Daniel Richman confirmed that he provided the information to the media at Mr Comey’s request.

AG LYNCH ‘WORKING WITH CLINTONS’

Mr Comey said that he suspected former Attorney General Loretta Lynch was in cahoots with the Hillary Clinton campaign last summer.

Ms Lynch, he said, told him not to refer to the probe into Mrs Clinton’s private email server as an “investigation.”

“She said just call it a matter. … That concerned me because that language tracked how the campaign was talking about the FBI’s work,” he said.

James Comey said he went public with the results of the Hillary Clinton email probe after Attorney General Loretta Lynch met with Bill Clinton. Picture: GettySource:AFP

Former President Bill Clinton’s surprise meeting with Ms Lynch at an Arizona airport also prompted him to go public with results of the FBI probe into the email server.

“That was the thing that capped it for me, that I had to do something separately to protect the credibility of the investigation, which meant both the FBI and the Justice Department,” Mr Comey said.

Mr Comey announced last July that criminal charges were not warranted, angering Republicans.

COMEY: ‘LORDY, I HOPE THERE ARE TAPES’

Mr Comey also said he hoped that his private conversations with Donald Trump were recorded, as the president had suggested in a menacing tweet.

Mr Comey said he felt the need to document the interactions - during which he says Trump urged him to drop a probe into a former aide - for fear the president might “lie” about their meetings.

He directly addressed Trump’s suggestion, saying: “I’ve seen the tweet about tapes. Lordy, I hope there are tapes.”

Three days after he fired the FBI chief last month, Trump tweeted: “James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!”

‘LORDY’ QUOTE GOES VIRAL

Meanwhile, Twitter users have latched on to Mr Comey’s use of “Lordy.”

“Lordy, I hope there are tapes,” Mr Comey said in referring to his meetings with Mr Trump.

The term quickly became a trending topic on Twitter.

Former New York City US Attorney Preet Bharara, who was also fired by Mr Trump, and who sat behind Mr Comey during his testimony, echoed the statement, writing: “We can all agree with Jim Comey that, Lordy, we hope there are tapes”.

Captain America actor Chris Evans quickly weighed in, saying he wanted Mr Comey’s phase on a T-shirt.

For those unaccustomed to hearing the word, dictionary maker Merriam-Webster tweeted a definition and joked Mr Comey still used old-fashioned terms like “gadzooks” or “gramercy”.

TRUMP JR LIVE TWEETS COMEY TESTIMONY

Mr Trump managed to not give into any temptation to live tweet Mr Comey’s testimony, however his son Donald Jr couldn’t help himself.

Donald Trump with Donald Jr. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

Mr Trump Jr disputed Mr Comey’s suggestion that he was unclear about whether the president was putting pressure on him to drop the investigation into Gen Flynn.

“Knowing my father for 39 years when he “orders or tells” you to do something there is no ambiguity, you will know exactly what he means,” he wrote.

Mr Trump was reportedly bunkered down with a team of lawyers in his personal dining room at the White House, just off the Oval Office, ABC News reports.

TURNING POINT

While his opponents have seized on the written testimony as confirmation the President attempted to obstruct the course of justice, his personal lawyer has said Mr Trump considered he had been vindicated by Mr Comey’s confirmation he was not the subject of an FBI investigation.

“The President is pleased that Mr Comey has finally publicly confirmed his private reports that the President was not under investigation in any Russia probe,” New York attorney Marc Kasowitz said.

President Donald Trump gives a 'thumbs up' as he walks across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. Picture: AP / Pablo Martinez MonsivaisSource:AP

“The President feels completely and totally vindicated. He is eager to continue to move forward with his agenda.”

However Mr Trump’s critics said the dossier showed Mr Trump’s behaviour ranged from inappropriate to indictable.

Former adviser to the Watergate prosecutors, Philip Lacovara, wrote in the Washington Post that “Comey placed President Trump in the gunfights of a federal criminal investigation, laying out evidence sufficient for a case of obstruction of justice”.

RECORD OF EVENTS

In his lengthy statement, Mr Comey details nine conversations with Mr Trump, beginning January 6, when he first met the then President-elect at Trump Tower in New York and briefed Mr Trump about the infamous Russian “dossier”.

He said he was so concerned about the tone of his dialogue with Mr Trump he started typing up a memo of their conversation in his car outside the meeting.

A part of the "Statement for the Record" released by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence of former FBI Director James B. Comey. Picture: AFP / PAUL J. RICHARDSSource:AFP

“Creating written records immediately after one-on-one conversations with Mr Trump was my practice from that point forward,” he wrote.

In their final exchange, on April 11, he says the President asked him again to publicly deny the FBI probe accusations, saying: “I have been very loyal to you, very loyal; we had that thing you know”.

This compared to just two direct exchanges he exchanged with Mr Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama.

EXECUTIVE OVERREACH

Mr Comey confirmed that Mr Trump asked him to end the investigation into Gen. Flynn, who was sacked after revelations he misled Vice President Mike Pence about meetings with the Russian ambassador.

“I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” Mr Comey says Mr Trump said to him the day after Gen. Flynn’s resignation.

“He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.” I replied only that: ‘he is a good guy’.

“I immediately prepared an unclassified memo of the conversation about Flynn and discussed the matter with FBI senior leadership. I had understood the President to be requesting that we drop any investigation of Flynn in connection with false statements about his conversations with the Russian ambassador in December.

FBI Director James Comey being sworn in prior to testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Picture: AFP / JIM WATSONSource:AFP

“It was very concerning, given the FBI’s role as an independent investigative agency.”

Mr Comey, who made extensive notes of his sometimes “very awkward conversations” with Mr Trump, explained why he was unwilling to publicly support the President over the “salacious” Russian prostitute allegations.

“I did not tell the President that the FBI and the Department of Justice had been reluctant to make public statements that we did not have an open case on President Trump for a number of reasons, most importantly because it would create a duty to correct, should that change,” Mr Comey said.