Putin offers asylum to former U.S. FBI director Comey

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered asylum to the former director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), James Comey.

Putin said that Comey’s release of records of his conversations with President Donald Trump equated to being an activist, like former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who lives in Russia under asylum.

If Comey, who was fired by Trump, continues to be persecuted, “we will be ready to provide him political asylum,” Putin said on national television.

Trump dismissed Comey on May 9 and the administration gave differing reasons for the action.

Former FBI Director James Comey agrees to publicly testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee

The news of former FBI Director, James Comey continues to generate buzz, controversy and trouble for the Donald Trump led administration. Now he has agreed to testify publicly before the Senate intelligence committee. The panel Chairman Richard Burr and Vice Chairman Mark Warner said they will schedule the hearing for after Memorial Day.

"The committee looks forward to receiving testimony from the former director on his role in the development of the intelligence community assessment on Russian interference in the 2016 US elections, and I am hopeful that he will clarify for the American people recent events that have been broadly reported in the media," Richard Burr said in a statement.

Warner said Comey's testimony would help "answer some of the questions that have arisen since Director Comey was so suddenly dismissed by the President."

Here’s FBI Director James Comey’s farewell letter after Donald Trump sacked him

Former FBI Director James Comey, who was fired Tuesday by President Donald Trump sent a letter to selected FBI staff, friends and agents. 

Below is the text of that letter;

To all: 

I have long believed that a President can fire an FBI Director for any reason, or for no reason at all. I'm not going to spend time on the decision or the way it was executed. I hope you won't either. It is done, and I will be fine, although I will miss you and the mission deeply. I have said to you before that, in times of turbulence, the American people should see the FBI as a rock of competence, honesty, and independence. 

What makes leaving the FBI hard is the nature and quality of its people, who together make it that rock for America. It is very hard to leave a group of people who are committed only to doing the right thing. 

My hope is that you will continue to live our values and the mission of protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution. If you do that, you too will be sad when you leave, and the American people will be safer. Working with you has been one of the great joys of my life. Thank you for that gift. 

Jim Comey