Republicans and Democrats will each get a chance next week to advance their favorite theories about Russia, hacking, leaks and the election.

Democrats are eager to take the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, his first public remarks since being fired by President Trump. And the day before, Republicans will get a chance to ask questions about the implementation of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act laws, which may help them learn more about how names of Trump associates may have been unmasked and how classified surveillance documents were leaked to the press.

Comey's testimony will dominate the week.

The key question for Democrats will be about the memos Comey wrote, which reportedly detail conversations Comey had with President Trump in which the president asked him to back off his investigation of former national security adviser Mike Flynn.

Comey's answer could be problematic either way. If he testifies the conversations did not happen, it will raise questions about how that narrative was leaked from within the FBI to media outlets.

If he testifies the conversations did happen as described, it will mean Comey contradicted his own earlier testimony. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, reminded people this week that Comey has already testified that he was never under any pressure to drop the case.

"So that'll be my first question, is how do you reconcile that memo, if in fact it does say that, with the testimony [he] provided the committee in early May," Lee told CNN this past week.

Democrats are also likely to ask about the circumstances of Trump's decision to fire him, which Democrats say is a sign that Trump was looking to thwart the FBI's investigation into Russia's meddling in the election and Trump's alleged ties to Russia.

On Wednesday, the same committee will dig into the controversies surrounding the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

FISA questions erupted after the phone call between Flynn and Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak were leaked to the press, setting off a chain reaction that ultimately led to Flynn's forced resignation.

The hearing also has the possibility of being explosive because of newly declassified documents that show the FBI and other intelligence agencies were less than careful in their "minimization" efforts regarding information obtained through FISA warrants, which essentially means some agencies like the FBI collected more information than they were allowed to by law.

A recent report by Circa news was first to highlight a recently unclassified document that showed the FISA court lecturing the intelligence community saying the violations were "a very serious Fourth Amendment issue."

That could give Republicans an opening to press their theory that anti-Trump federal officials have been illegally unmasking or leaking the identities of people close to Trump to hurt the administration.

Other parts of the hearing are certain to be tilted toward the portions of the FISA law that are up for renewal by lawmakers this fall.

Wednesday's FISA hearing will host the nation's top intelligence officials, National Intelligence Director Dan Coats, Acting Director of the FBI Andrew McCabe, Admiral Mike Rogers of the National Security Agency, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

Getting on-the-record responses to FISA issues from those officials take an even greater importance after subpoenas issued last week by the House Intelligence Committee, looking for " unmasking" information related to the Trump team.