Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
It was not a good day for President Donald Trump.
He already was facing criticism for embracing Republican health care legislation that would take away coverage from 24 million people and proposing a budget that would cut the Environmental Protection Agency by almost one third and end grants for public television, the arts, and to cities for housing and economic development.
Then the FBI director, James Comey, told the House Intelligence Committee Monday that the agency was investigating Russian involvement in the 2016 elections, including whether was collusion with the Trump campaign, and dismissed the president's unsubstantiated allegations that his precedessor, President Barack Obama, ordered wiretaps of Trump Tower.
Here's a look Monday's action.
FBI Director James Comey testifies before the House Intelligence Committee. (EPA | Shawn Thew)
The witness: FBI Director James Comey
FBI Director James Comey was criticized during the campaign for sitting on information about possible Trump-Russia ties while announcing that the bureau had found new emails that could involve Clinton (it didn't). Obama named him FBI director in 2013. At the U.S. Justice Department, Comey was Gov. Chris Christie's boss when he was a U.S. attorney.
National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers testifies before the House Intelligence Committee. (AP Photo | J. Scott Applewhite)
The witness: NSA Director Mike Rogers
Navy Adm. Mike Rogers is another Obama administration holdover, having been appointed head of the National Security Agency in 2014.
Bombshell 1: There is an investigation of possible Trump campaign-Russia connections
Comey began his testimony with this blockbuster:
"The FBI, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia's efforts."
What it means
Reports of possible collusion between the president's campaign and Russia cannot be simply disregarded as "fake news."
FBI Director James Comey, left, joined by National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers, right, testifies on before the House Intelligence Committee. (AP Photo | J. Scott Applewhite)
What's at stake
Like what the Watergate investigation did to President Richard Nixon, the probe into Russian involvement in Trump's campaign will hang over his administration until it is resolved one way or another. His long-term future will depend on what the FBI and congressional investigations find.
What the White House is saying
"It’s clear that nothing has changed," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said at the daily press briefing. "Senior Obama intelligence officials have gone on record to confirm that there is no evidence of a Trump-Russia collusion. The Obama CIA director said so, Obama’s director of national intelligence said so, and we take them at their word."
What Trump is tweeting
Vice President Mike Pence listens to President Donald Trump speak during a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi at the White House. (Chris Kleponis | Getty Images/Pool)
What the Democrats are saying
Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the intelligence panel, ticked off all the reported connections between Russian officials and Trump advisers, including the fact that Attorney General Jeff Sessions did not disclose his two meetings with the Russian ambassador at his confirmation hearing.
"Is it possible that all of these events and reports are completely unrelated and nothing more than an entirely unhappy coincidence?" Schiff said. "Yes, it is possible. But it is also possible, maybe more than possible, that they are not coincidental, not disconnected and not unrelated and that the Russians use the same techniques to corrupt U.S. persons that they employed in Europe and elsewhere. We simply don't know, not yet. And we owe it to the country to find out."
Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-9th Dist.) said Comey's statement made it more imperative that Trump release his income tax returns, as every president has done for 40 years.
"As a matter of good faith in times of unprecedented constitutional crisis, I'm calling again on President Trump or Congressional Republicans to show the American people where the president's interests lie," Pascrell said. "I want a congressional review of his tax returns. I want to assure my constituents that this White House is not on loan to the Russian government."
What the Republicans are saying
House Republicans were concerned that the American public learned that the FBI was conducting an investigation, not that there was a probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), whose special committee investigating the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, while Clinton was secretary of state took 28 months and spent $8 million in taxpayer money, spent his time questioning the witnesses about news articles.
"I thought it was against the law to disseminate classified information," he said.
Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-2nd Dist.) was more concerned about whether Russia could hack another U.S. election.
"What we are doing or what we should be doing to protect against Russian interference in future elections or any meddling with our government or for that matter any state sponsor -- Iranians, North Koreans, Chinese -- with any meddling they may be doing?" he asked.
"First, I think a public discussion and acknowledgment of the activity is a good positive first step because it shines us a flashlight on this," Rogers said. "It illuminates a significant issue that I think we all have to deal with."
What's next?
Both intelligence committees will continue their investigations. The FBI revelations mean it will be hard for congressional Republicans to conduct anything but a serious, in-depth probe, and the Justice Department investigation will hang over the Trump administration indefinitely.
As Comey told LoBiondo, "I don't know how long the work will take."
Bombshell 2: 'No information' supports Trump's allegations on wiretapping
Comey also said the FBI found nothing to support the president's allegations on Twitter that Obama ordered wiretaps at Trump Tower.
"With respect to the president's tweets about alleged wiretapping directed at him by the prior administration, I have no information that supports those tweets and we have looked carefully inside the FBI," Comey said. "The Department of Justice has asked me to share with you that the answer is the same for the Department of Justice and all its components. The department has no information that supports those tweets."
What it means
So far, it looks like Trump can't back up his wiretapping allegations. Even if they come from the president of the United States, future allegations likely will be viewed skeptically by the public, even if they turn out to be true.
It also provides an indication that Congress, though controlled by Republicans, will exercise some oversight. The GOP chairmen of the Senate and House Intelligence committees already called out the president of their own party and reported the same lack of evidence.
What's at stake
The president's credibility, for one thing. While his falsehoods during the campaign were called out time and time again and didn't stop him from winning, they did contribute to his low approval ratings. With a majority of Americans disapproving of the president's job performance, members of Congress of his own party, many of whom face the voters in less than two years, may decide to keep a little distance.
What the White House is saying
"There's a lot more questions that need to get asked about what was being done in terms of surveillance, who was being surveilled, why were they being involved, what techniques, why are certain people being sort of 'unmasked' and having their identity known, what was going on," Spicer said. "But there's a lot more questions than answers that need to get asked."
What Trump is tweeting
President Donald Trump meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in the Oval Office of the White House. (AP Photo | Evan Vucci)
What the Democrats are saying
“President Trump has been desperate to distract attention from the FBI investigation into the Kremlin’s grip on his administration," said House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California. "Director Comey’s testimony put the last nail into President Trump’s mendacious wiretapping claims. President Trump owes President Obama and the American people an apology for his disgraceful and incendiary fabrications."
What the Republicans are saying
"We know there was not a physical wiretap of Trump Tower," said Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the intelligence committee chairman. "However, it's still possible that other surveillance activities were used against President's Trump and his associates."
What's next?
Trump's evidence-free assertions that he was illegally wiretapped may continue to dominate the news cycle, and not in a good way. Spicer faced numerous questions last week and again on Monday.
That diverts attention away from the president's agenda and his ability to use the bully pulpit to push his agenda.
And will he really have any political capital available to spend on the health care bill or his budget?
Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
Ad Choices