The Republican National Committee has a battle plan for former FBI Director James Comey's testimony in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday.

In talking points obtained by the Washington Examiner, the RNC offers Republicans a number of pointers including how to respond to Comey's opening statement, which was released on Wednesday. He is expected to testify at length about his private conversations with President Trump while keeping talk about the ongoing federal investigation into Russian interference relatively brief.

Comey was fired from the FBI in early May.

Here's a sneak peek of the line of attack Republicans are encouraged to take Thursday:

Top Takeaways:

President Trump feels completely and totally vindicated by Former FBI Director James Comey's opening testimony and is eager to move forward.

Director Comey's opening statement confirms he told President Trump three times that he was not under investigation. The testimony also confirms that President Trump did not impede or engage in obstruction of justice of the investigation.

President Trump knew firing Director Comey would be detrimental to his presidency, but he knew it was the right thing to do for the country so he did it anyways.

Director Comey lost confidence of both sides of the aisle, and the president was justified in firing him.

Director Comey and his deputy have even admitted under oath there was no obstruction.

Director Comey has a long history of blatant contradictions and misstatements.

There is no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

While investigating the Clinton email scandal, Director Comey succumbed to political pressure from the Obama White House – this is far worse than anything President Trump is rumored to have said.

The Left and the media are using the Russia investigation as a means to obstruct the President's agenda. It is time to get back to the real issues.

We are pleased the investigative process is moving forward and are confident that when these inquiries are complete, there will still be no evidence to support any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Meanwhile, President Trump is going to continue to pursue the agenda that got him elected.

Director Comey's Opening Statement Confirms He Told President Trump Three Times That He Was Not Under Investigation:

President Trump feels completely and totally vindicated by Director Comey's opening testimony and is eager to move forward.

According to former Director Comey's prepared testimony, he will confirm what Democrats and the media have been denying for weeks: That Director Comey did in fact tell the president three times that he was not under investigation.

The testimony also confirms that President Trump did not impede or engage in obstruction of justice of the investigation.

President Trump Knew Firing Director Comey Would Be Detrimental To His Presidency, But He Knew It Was The Right Thing To Do For The Country So He Did It Anyways:

President Trump stated in an interview with NBC's Lester Holt that he knew firing Director Comey might lengthen the Russia investigation and could bring him bad press, but he knew it was the right thing for the country so he did it anyways.

Director Comey Lost Confidence Of Both Sides Of The Aisle, And The President Was Justified In Firing Him:

Over the course of the past year, Director Comey lost the confidence of Democrats, Republicans, and President Trump.

Firing Director Comey was perfectly within the right for the President to do.

In his staff farewell letter, Director Comey said, "I have long believed that a President can fire an FBI Director for any reason, or for no reason at all." He was right.

Even left-leaning attorney Alan Dershowitz stated, "There is no legitimate basis for concluding that the president engaged in a crime by exercising his statutory and constitutional authority to fire Director Comey."

Democrats have been tripping over themselves on the issue of whether Director Comey deserved to be fired.

Many high profile Democrats said they lost confidence in Director Comey over the past year, or said it was time for him to go. Their flip-flop on this issue to now criticize the administration for firing Director Comey is something to behold:

Sen. Schumer said in November, 2016 that he lost confidence in Director Comey.

Rep. Pelosi said in November, 2016 that Director Comey may not be the right fit for the job.

Sen. Feinstein said in October 2016 that Director Comey's letter to Congress was "appalling."

Sen. Wyden said Comey's actions during the 2016 campaign were "continued leadership failures."

Rep. Hank Johnson said in January that Director Comey "should pack his things and go," expressing concerns that Director Comey "will continue to erode the credibility of the FBI."

Rep. Maxine Waters stated in January that Director Comey "has no credibility."

President Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett reportedly urged Obama to fire Director Comey last year.

Sen. Kaine called Director Comey's actions during the campaign one of the "lowest moments in the history of the FBI."

Director Comey And His Deputy Have Admitted Under Oath There Was No Obstruction:

The public record is definitive that the President never obstructed an FBI investigation.

In fact, acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe testified in the days after Director Comey was fired that "there has been no effort to impede our investigation."

And, Director Comey himself testified under oath on May 3rd that, in his experience, he had never been told to stop an investigation because of a political reason.

Both of these statements seem to contradict the New York Times report about Director Comey's memos.

Many have pointed out that if Director Comey really did feel like his investigation was being impeded, why would he not do something about that and raise a red flag? It doesn't add up.

Director Comey Has A Long History Of Blatant Contradictions And Misstatements:

To prove he was not right for the job, look no further than the story that came out last week claiming Director Comey acted on Russian intelligence he knew was fake during the Clinton investigation.

And last month, the FBI was forced to correct false testimony from Director Comey regarding basic facts about the Clinton investigation.

Not to mention the numerous examples of mishandling of the Clinton investigation during 2016.

There Is No Evidence Of Collusion:

Through the haze of unsourced rumors and anonymous leaks, one thing has remained constant, Democrats and Republicans agree there is still no evidence of collusion between the Trump Campaign and Russia.

Former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein said she has zero evidence of any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian agents.

It's not just Sen. Feinstein who has said they've been presented with no evidence. Top former Obama intelligence officials and members of Congress briefed on the matter from both sides of the aisle have all said the same thing.

While Investigating The Clinton Email Scandal, Comey Succumbed To Political Pressure From The Obama White House – This Is Far Worse Than Anything President Trump Is Rumored To Have Said:

Reports of what President Trump purportedly said to Director Comey are not remotely close to "obstruction."

Nothing makes this clearer than comparing these reported comments to President Obama's repeated and pointed public comments concerning the FBI investigation of Secretary Clinton, which were never investigated as potentially obstructive by Congress or the FBI.

During the pendency of the FBI server investigation, President Obama's administration publicly stated in January 2016, that Secretary Clinton "is not the target of the investigation" and "it doesn't seem to be headed in th[e] direction" of an indictment; and in April 2016, President Obama said that Secretary Clinton "has not jeopardized America's national security" and "would never intentionally put America in any kind of jeopardy."

These unprecedented comments unequivocally signaled to his subordinate officers President Obama's conclusions regarding Secretary Clinton's conduct.

Of course, a short time after President Obama's April comments about the lack of intent, Director Comey used that exact basis for unilaterally announcing that "no reasonable prosecutor" would charge Secretary Clinton even though the relevant statute did not even require intent.

The New York Times also reported that President Obama's Attorney General Loretta Lynch instructed FBI Director Comey to stop calling his investigation an "investigation" and instead call it a "matter," which he immediately began doing.

In this context, and in any context, it is obvious that none of President Trump's purported statements constituted obstruction alone, and especially, in the context of President Obama's far more extensive comments about the Clinton investigation that were never investigated as obstructive.

The Left And The Media Are Using The Russia Investigation As A Means To Obstruct The President's Agenda:

The Left and the media are using the Russia investigation as a means to obstruct the President's agenda. They are refusing to talk about the real issues.

A study done a few weeks ago found that 89 percent of broadcast network coverage of President Trump has been negative.

It's time to get back to the real issues. This week, President Trump has been focusing on infrastructure improvements, health care reform, and improving the economy, but the media fails to give equal coverage to these important issues.

Conclusion:

The bottom line is this - Both sides of the aisle have stated that Director Comey needed to step aside. And, both sides of the aisle agree there is no evidence the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.

The other thing everyone agrees on is the leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling and pose a grave threat to our national security. The leaks need to stop.

We are pleased the investigative process is moving forward and are confident that when these inquiries are complete, there will still be no evidence to support any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Meanwhile, President Trump is going to continue to pursue the agenda that got him elected.

---- The packet also includes a number of suggested tweets:

And here are some of the @GOP's suggested tweets for allies on Comey testimony pic.twitter.com/l90JvBeUkI — Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) June 8, 2017



Comey's testimony before the Senate intelligence panel is expected to start at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday.