The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said Wednesday that fired FBI Director James Comey's written testimony confirms "troubling allegations" against President Trump, accusing him of trying to "coerce" intelligence community leaders.

Rep. Adam Schiff Adam Bennett SchiffSchiff claims DHS is blocking whistleblower's access to records before testimony GOP lawmakers distance themselves from Trump comments on transfer of power Rubio on peaceful transfer of power: 'We will have a legitimate & fair election' MORE's (Calif.) statement came just hours after the Senate Intelligence Committee released Comey's opening statement.

“Former FBI Director Comey's written testimony confirms a host of troubling allegations concerning the President's conduct," Schiff said.

"Two stand out: The President sought to obtain a pledge of loyalty from the Director of the FBI during a conversation that centered on whether the Director would be able to keep his job," he added. "And second, the President effectively asked the Director to drop the investigation of his former National Security Advisor."

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Comey, whom Trump abruptly fired last month, is set to testify before the Senate Intelligence panel on Thursday about his interactions with Trump and whether the president sought to curtail the FBI's investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

In the statement released Wednesday, Comey describes a Feb. 14 meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, in which the president booted other officials from the room before telling Comey that Flynn "hadn’t done anything wrong on his calls with the Russians."

“'I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,'" Comey quoted Trump as saying at the time. "'He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.'"

The testimony also recounts several demands made by Trump for Comey to publicly dispel the notion that the president himself was under investigation, saying that the then-FBI director needed to lift the "cloud" hanging over the White House.

"It is not the Director's job to lift the cloud of suspicion over the President's conduct or that of his associates," Schiff said. "The request by the President ... represents yet another improper effort to coerce the intelligence agencies to do public relations for the White House and to undermine the independence and integrity of the intelligence community.”

Schiff's committee, along with at least three other congressional panels, is investigating Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 election, as well as possible coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.