Trump told Comey 'I need loyalty. I expect loyalty': President told ex-FBI chief to back off from probe into Flynn

Washington: Former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director James Comey, in a written statement posted on the web on Wednesday, said President Donald Trump asked him to back off from a probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn and told Comey, “I need loyalty. I expect loyalty.”

Comey, who will testify in person to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, will use his opening statement to recount a dinner he had with Trump on 27 January, a week after the president took office, according to a copy of the statement posted on the Senate panel’s website.

Comey said that during the dinner Trump asked him if he wanted to stay on as FBI director. Comey said he became concerned that Trump was trying to create “some sort of patronage relationship.”

In the statement Comey added: “That concerned me greatly, given the FBI’s traditionally independent status in the executive branch.”