James Comey, the former FBI director called to testify before members of the House of Representatives on Friday, said the hearing was a “desperate attempt to find anything that can be used to attack the institutions of justice investigating this president”.

Comey, who was subpoenaed, spoke to the GOP-led House judiciary and oversight and government reform committees for nearly seven hours behind closed doors, later telling reporters that they were “talking again about Hillary Clinton’s emails, for heaven’s sakes”.

“I’m not sure we need to do this at all. But I’m trying to respect the institution and answer questions in a respectful way,” he said after the hearing, adding in a tweet: “In the long run, it’ll make no difference because facts are stubborn things.”

Today wasn’t a search for truth, but a desperate attempt to find anything that can be used to attack the institutions of justice investigating this president. They came up empty today but will try again. In the long run, it'll make no difference because facts are stubborn things. — James Comey (@Comey) December 8, 2018

The hearing happened on the same day as a number of significant developments in the special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. New court filings revealed that Michael Cohen, the president’s former personal lawyer, had spoken with a Russian offering help during the 2016 election.

Cohen further told investigators that in 2015, he attempted to contact the Russian government to propose a meeting between Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin after discussing it with Trump. Prosecutors recommended Friday that Cohen, who previously pleaded guilty to lying to Congress, should be sentenced to about four years in prison.

A separate court filing said Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, lied to the FBI and to the special counsel’s office on five different matters, violating a plea agreement with Mueller’s team.

After Comey’s testimony, which is expected to continue on 17 December, some Republicans suggested he should have been more cooperative. The GOP congressman Darrell Issa said Comey came with a justice department lawyer who repeatedly instructed the former FBI chief not to answer “a great many questions that are clearly items at the core of our investigation”.

Trump later tweeted: “Comey was told by Department of Justice attorneys not to answer the most important questions. Total bias and corruption at the highest levels of previous Administration. Force him to answer the questions under oath!”

It is unclear if Comey spoke under oath, though lying to Congress is always considered a crime.

Democrats described the testimony differently. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois said: “He answered the questions he had to answer,” adding that he was left with the impression that “we got nowhere today”.

Florida congressman Ted Deutch said the GOP majority “wishes to only ask questions still about Hillary Clinton’s emails, all to distract from the big news today, which is what’s happening in court”.

The New York congressman Jerrold Nadler, who is the top Democrat on the judiciary panel, said he would end the investigation in January when Democrats took over the House.

“This is a waste of time to start with,” he said. “The entire purpose of this investigation is to cast aspersions on the real investigation, which is Mueller. There is no evidence whatsoever of bias at the FBI or any of this other nonsense.”

Comey’s attorneys previously argued that the interview should be done in public, citing concerns about selective leaks meant to hurt Mueller’s investigation. Comey ultimately secured an agreement saying he would be free to discuss the hearing and that a transcript would be released.

As of late Friday night, officials had not yet published a transcript.