TRANSCRIPT:
RUBIO: “On a number of occasions here, you bring up — let’s talk now about the general Russia investigation, OK. In page six of your testimony you say — the first thing you say is, he asked what we could do to quote/unquote ‘lift the cloud,’ the general Russia investigation? And you responded that we were investigating the matter as quickly as we could and that there would be great benefit if we didn’t find anything to having done the work well and he agreed. He re-emphasized the problems it was causing him but he agreed. So since the president agreed with your statement that it’ll be great if we could have an investigation all the facts came out, and we found nothing. So he agreed that would be ideal, but this cloud is still messing up my ability to do the rest of my agenda, is that an accurate assessment of it?”
COMEY: “Yes, sir. He qactually went further than that. He said. and if some of my satellites did something wrong, it’d be good to find that out.”
RUBIO: “Well that’s the second part. And that is the satellites. He said, if one of my satellites, I imagine by that he meant some of the other people surrounding his campaign did something wrong, it would be great to know that as well.”
COMEY: “Yes, sir, that’s what he said.”
RUBIO: “Are those the other — are those the only two instances in which that sort of back and forth happened where the president was basically saying, and I’m paraphrasing here, it is OK, do the Russia investigation, I hope it all comes out, I have nothing to do with anything Russia, it’d be great if all came out, if people around me were doing things that were wrong.”
COMEY: “Yes, as I — I recorded it accurately, that was the sentiment he was expressing. Yes, sir.”