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Dr. Brian Carso was one of millions who watched former FBI Director James Comey testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday.
Carso, a former lawyer and current history professor at Misericordia University, said he found Comey’s testimony “credible” namely because “he raises additional questions … about (General Michael) Flynn, (Paul) Manafort and (Attorney General Jeff) Sessions.”
The Associated Press says Comey’s written testimony claims President Donald Trump, in a strange private encounter near the grandfather clock in the Oval Office, pushed Comey to end his investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Drawing on his lawyer background, Carso said FBI agents are trained to be “highly observant.”
“He wrote things down to preserve evidence,” Carso said, noting the lengths Comey went to when writing the extemporaneous notes after meeting with the president on several occasions.
Congressman Lou Barletta, R-Hazleton, who has supported Trump since near the beginning of the president’s primary campaign, called on Americans to use the testimony to focus on the “real issues.”
“Comey today confirmed what we already knew to be true: the president is not under investigation,” Barletta said in a statement. “As the investigation continues, we need to focus on the real issues that affect the American people, like protecting our national security and putting Americans back to work.”
Carso said in a “regular case,” Comey’s testimony would lead to obstruction of justice charges against Trump.
“But it’s not a regular case,” Carso noted. “It comes down to what Republicans will make of this.”
Carso called Comey’s testimony “deeply disturbing.”
Sen. Bob Casey, meanwhile, described it as “very troubling.”
“It’s clear that President Trump interfered in the investigation and it’s incumbent upon the Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, to closely examine this matter,” Casey, D-Scranton, added.
