Rep. Trey Gowdy said Friday that former FBI Director James B. Comey’s private memos on his conversations with President Trump would be a major piece of the president’s defense in a possible obstruction of justice case.

“These Comey memos are defense exhibit A in an obstruction of justice. I’ve read them, very few members of Congress have, and no one outside of Congress has read the Comey memos,” Mr. Gowdy, South Carolina Republican, said on Fox News.

“I think they ought to be released. I think they ought to be released publicly, but they certainly ought to be released to Congress. They would be defense exhibit A in a obstruction of justice prosecution,” he said.

About the dossier in particular, Mr. Comey said in an upcoming interview with ABC News that he did not share that the document was funded by Mr. Trump’s political opponents because it wasn’t relevant to his job of telling the president that the FBI had the information.

Mr. Gowdy said that the bigger issue is that the FBI also did not tell the FISA court — a top-secret court that issues surveillance warrants — when requesting the warrant.

“It’s certainly a relevant fact, whether or not he should’ve told the president. The FBI certainly should’ve told the FISA court. That’s my bigger concern is they didn’t tell the folks who authorized the warrant. It’s a really relevant fact,” Mr. Gowdy said.

“I think it would’ve been nice to tell the person who was the subject of the dossier, also,” he added.

Mr. Comey’s upcoming interview details his time working with Mr. Trump for the short time before he was fired. His book “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership” also details a tense relationship with the president.

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