Acting F.B.I. Director Andrew McCabe also denied that the White House or Trump had attempted to interfere with the Justice Department investigation in sworn testimony before the Senate last week. “There has been no effort to impede our investigation to date,” said McCabe.

The revelation that Trump allegedly asked Comey to close the Flynn investigation is the latest in a string of devastating headlines for the White House. Within hours of Comey's ouster, CNN revealed that federal prosecutors in Virginia had recently issued grand jury subpoenas seeking business records from associates of Mike Flynn, fueling speculation that Trump dismissed the F.B.I. director over the Russia investigation. The White House press shop subsequently spent the next few days denying that this was the case—arguing that Comey was dismissed for mishandling the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s e-mail scandal, and on the recommendation of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein—only to be undermined by Trump himself.

“Regardless of recommendation, I was going to fire Comey,” the president told NBC News's Lester Holt. In the interview, Trump created further headaches for his embattled staff when he revealed that he had a private dinner with Comey shortly after the election, during which the president reportedly asked for the F.B.I. director’s loyalty. On Friday, Trump seemingly leveled a threat against Comey when he wrote on Twitter, “James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!” (According to the Times, Trump began his February 14 conversation with Comey by suggesting that the F.B.I. consider jailing journalists who leak classified information.)

The Trump administration was dealt another blow Monday when the Post reported that the president had revealed “highly classified” information to Kislyak and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov—a move intelligence experts characterized as “a stunning lapse in judgement.”. (The White House has denied that Trump did anything inappropriate during the meeting with the Russian officials.)

The response from lawmakers on Captiol Hill to the Times report was swift. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was “shaken” by the news and that the “country is being tested in unprecedented ways.” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi warned that if the reports are true, “At best, Trump has committed a grave abuse of executive power. At worst, he has obstructed justice.” When asked during an interview with CNN by Wolf Blitzer whether the Times report could lead to an impeachment process, Independent Senator Angus King conceded, “Reluctantly, Wolf, I have to say yes.” Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said, “We are witnessing an obstruction of justice case unfold in real time.” Obstruction of justice was the first article of impeachment against President Richard Nixon, who resigned from office in 1974 amid a similar controversy.

A number of Republicans, the vast majority of whom stopped short of publicly rebuking Trump over the past week, also began to speak out soon after news of the alleged Comey letter broke. Rep. Carlos Curbelo wrote on Twitter that “If recent allegations are true, they mark the beginning of a new and very sad chapter of scandal and controversy in our country.” House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz told NBC News, “If the memo exists, I need to see it and I need to see it right away,” adding that the subpoena process is already underway. Richard Burr, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, also stressed the importance of obtaining the memo. “I think the burden is on the New York Times, if they’re reporting it and they’ve got somebody who’s got the document,” he told Politico. “They need to get the document and get it released."