Sen. Joe Manchin discusses what he wants to hear from James Comey
Sen. Joe Manchin on Monday said that his constituents want him to find out whether former FBI Director James Comey believed President Trump was committing obstruction of justice and if he did, why he didn't act on it.
The West Virginia Democrat spoke to "CBS This Morning" about the questions he has for Comey when he testifies for the first time Thursday since his dismissal from the FBI before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
"The question for West Virginians is, 'If you knew, or you thought that there was obstruction of justice, why didn't you act on it?" said Manchin, a member of the Intelligence panel. "What were his concerns and if there were deeper concerns, why wasn't anything done at that time?"
Referring to the reports about the president asking Comey for loyalty and asking him to end the investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, Manchin said he wants to know if that rose to the level of obstruction and why "was that concern filed away and for what purpose."
Manchin said he hasn't seen Comey's memos yet, but wants to see all of them. He said that if Mr. Trump invoked executive privilege to try and block Comey's testimony, "If he tried that, I think it'd be wrong."
Asked about the president's agenda for immigration reform, tax reform and infrastructure reform, Manchin said he hopes these initiatives can be accomplished on a bipartisan level before the 2018 midterm elections. He said that Democrats and Republicans have become so "siloed" that if you have a "D" by your name or an "R" by your name, he said that the other person is considered "the enemy."
Manchin said that he's spoken to Mr. Trump about his plan to repeal and replace Obamacare and warned him about West Virginians who rely on the health care law, but voted for him last November.