Read Comey's statement: Trump said, 'I need loyalty. I expect loyalty,' then awkward silence

Former FBI director James Comey will testify tomorrow before Congress on investigations involving Trump, Russia, and the U.S. elections. Highly awaited: Comey's testimony on interactions he had with President Donald Trump. This early copy of his remarks delivers a bombshell.

According to his prepared opening statement released a day ahead of testimony, Comey will say in his congressional hearing that Trump told him, "I need loyalty. I expect loyalty," at a dinner in January 2017.

Here's the PDF Link.

Comey is scheduled to speak before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, and his prepared statement was released Wednesday afternoon at Comey's request, per various news reports.

Comey spoke privately with Trump nine times, three of which were meetings with only the two of them present, and the fired FBI director wrote detailed transcripts of these conversations in now-declassified memos.

From CNN:

Former FBI Director James Comey will say Thursday that President Donald Trump asked him about the former national security adviser Michael Flynn and to "see your way clear to letting this go," according to a copy of his opening remarks posted online.

"He then said, 'I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go,'" Comey said in remarks posted on the website of the Senate intelligence committee. "I replied only that 'he is a good guy.' (In fact, I had a positive experience dealing with Mike Flynn when he was a colleague as Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency at the beginning of my term at FBI.) I did not say I would 'let this go.'"

Comey's testimony was publicly released intentionally Wednesday by the Senate intelligence committee at Comey's request, a Senate intelligence committee source said. He is scheduled to give his testimony before the committee Thursday.