On Capitol Hill, recently fired FBI Director James Comey told lawmakers on Thursday that President Trump tried to derail an investigation into National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s links to Russia, and accused Trump of lying about why he was fired. The comments came during dramatic testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

James Comey: “Although the law required no reason at all to fire an FBI director, the administration then chose to defame me and, more importantly, the FBI, by saying that the organization was in disarray, that it was poorly led, that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader. Those were lies, plain and simple.”

Comey told senators he believes he was fired by Trump because of his investigation into Russia’s meddling in November’s presidential election and whether any top Trump officials colluded with Russian officials. Comey detailed how Trump repeatedly cornered him in one-on-one meetings, asking him to declare his loyalty to the president and pressuring him to back off the investigation into Michael Flynn. Comey testified that he documented every meeting he had with Trump.

James Comey: “I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, and so I thought it really important to document.”