Opinions
The most chilling line of Comey’s testimony

By Dana Milbank Opinion writer June 9 at 11:22 AM

There will be much for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III to unpack after this week’s momentous testimony of James B. Comey: Did President Trump’s actions amount to obstruction of justice? Did Attorney General Jeff Sessions violate his recusal from the Russia probe? Should Comey have acted sooner?

But such legal considerations, though important, miss the real significance of Comey’s testimony heard-’round-the-world. In the three hours I sat transfixed in Room 216 of the Hart Building, 15 feet behind the fired FBI director, the line that chilled me more than any other was Comey’s account of why he wrote extensive, real-time notes of his conversations with Trump. “The nature of the person,” Comey explained in part. “I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, and so I thought it really important to document.”

The nature of the person.
....

Trump is growing lonely in his protestations of his own probity. Friday morning he inexplicably claimed “total and complete vindication.” Trump’s spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders vouched that “the president is not a liar. I think it’s frankly insulting that that question would be asked.” ... No, what’s insulting — to America — is that the question doesn’t need to be asked. Comey, until last month the nation’s top lawman, confirmed what we already knew.

Twitter: @Milbank