 the
President reached out to the Director of National Intelligence and the leaders of the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA) to ask
them what they could do to publicly dispel the suggestion that the President
had any connection to the Russian election-interference effort. The President
also twice called Comey directly, notwithstanding guidance from McGahn to
avoid direct contacts with the Department of Justice. Comey had previously
assured the President that the FBI wa