Today is a big, big day for a few people.

Donald Trump will be lurking on Twitter, his tiny little hands ready to bang out 140-character rants at the mere mention of his wrongdoings.

On the other hand, fired FBI Director James Comey will be taking to the stand at the US Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, which is investigating the extent of Russian meddling in the US elections.

Ahead of his appearance Comey has given a written statement, and Quartz have this to say about it:

It reads more like it was written by a crime novelist than by a cop: Detailed, evocative, and with just enough tension, the seven pages are quite the read, likely to captivate even those not especially into official hearings.

From the unusual presidential requests of loyalty to awkward dinners and the chronicling of growing tension between players in the DC halls of power, Comey delivered a remarkably well-written first draft of history that seems too novelistic to be true, and yet….

And yet yes, this is now real life.

So it’s seven pages, and if the inner workings of US politics has ever interested you then it’s worth a full look.

Read it in full HERE, over at Axios, but I’ll pick out just a few choice nugs for those who can’t spare the time:

I can recall nine one-on-one conversations with President Trump in four months – three in person and six on the phone…

JAN 27 DINNER – My instincts told me that the one-on-one setting, and the pretense that this was our first discussion about my position, meant the dinner was, at least in part, an effort to have me ask for my job and create some sort of patronage relationship. That concerned me greatly, given the FBI’s traditionally independent status in the executive branch…

A few moments later, the President said, “I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.” I didn’t move, speak, or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed. We simply looked at each other in silence. The conversation then moved on, but he returned to the subject near the end of our dinner…

Near the end of our dinner, the President returned to the subject of my job, saying he was very glad I wanted to stay, adding that he had heard great things about me from Jim Mattis, Jeff Sessions, and many others. He then said, “I need loyalty.” I replied, “You will always get honesty from me.” He paused and then said, “That’s what I want, honest loyalty.” I paused, and then said, “You will get that from me.”

FEB 14 OVAL OFFICE – The President signaled the end of the briefing by thanking the group and telling them all that he wanted to speak to me alone. I stayed in my chair…

When the door by the grandfather clock closed, and we were alone, the President began by saying, “I want to talk about Mike Flynn.” Flynn had resigned the previous day. The President began by saying Flynn hadn’t done anything wrong in speaking with the Russians, but he had to let him go because he had misled the Vice President. He added that he had other concerns about Flynn, which he did not then specify…

The President then returned to the topic of Mike Flynn, saying, “He is a good guy and has been through a lot.” He repeated that Flynn hadn’t done anything wrong on his calls with the Russians, but had misled the Vice President. 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.” I replied only that “he is a good guy.”

30 MARCH PHONE CALL – On the morning of March 30, the President called me at the FBI. He described the Russia investigation as “a cloud” that was impairing his ability to act on behalf of the country. He said he had nothing to do with Russia, had not been involved with hookers in Russia, and had always assumed he was being recorded when in Russia. He asked what we could do to “lift the cloud.” I responded that we were investigating the matter as quickly as we could, and that there would be great benefit, if we didn’t find anything, to our having done the work well. He agreed, but then re-emphasized the problems this was causing him…

He finished by stressing “the cloud” that was interfering with his ability to make deals for the country and said he hoped I could find a way to get out that he wasn’t being investigated.

Right, I’ve said too much already.

Go ahead and read the full statement HERE.

[sources:quartz&axios]