NO WONDER THEY WANTED CLOSED DOORS:

The FBI's scrutiny of Donald Trump's wider presidential campaign team over fears of collusion with Kremlin election-meddling began as far back as the summer of 2016, according to the former FBI Director James Comey.

Comey revealed in testimony to congressional investigators that four Americans somehow connected to the campaign, but not Trump himself, had come into the FBI's sights in late July, well before polling day.

The details were made public for the first time on Saturday when the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees released the transcript of Friday's seven-hour, closed-door interview with Comey.

Comey's statements provide new information about the timing of the federal government's probe into the 2016 presidential battle between Trump and Democrat Party nominee Hillary Clinton, and could offer new clues about what's coming down the pipeline from the Department of Justice. [...]

Representatives in the closed-door interview posed several questions to Comey about the special counsel's investigation into obstruction. At one point Gowdy asked Comey about his termination from the FBI.

"He is entitled to his opinion, but to the extent--because he also stated that he is also a witness in the investigation," said Cecilia Bessee, a lawyer for the FBI present at the interview.

"Which investigation is he a witness in?" Gowdy asked.

"To the special counsel," Bessee said, switching her phrasing on Comey's witness status. "He said he is a potential witness."

"Well, you just said witness," Gowdy said. "Is there an obstruction of justice investigation?"

"I believe there is an investigation that the special counsel is looking into," Bessee said.

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