Former FBI director James Comey accused President Donald Trump of asking him to close a federal investigation into disgraced general Mike Flynn during a February 14 meeting in the Oval Office.

'I hope you can let this go,' Trump told Comey, according to a copy of a memo read to a New York Times reporter.

Comey reportedly wrote the memo immediately after he met with Trump, as part of an effort to document situations in which the president sought to interfere in the FBI's operations.

The White House quickly fired back, claiming in a statement that 'the President has never asked Mr. Comey or anyone else to end any investigation, including any investigation involving General Flynn.'

On Tuesday night, Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House oversight committee, fired off a letter to the acting FBI director Andrew McCabe requesting to see 'all memoranda, notes, summaries and recordings' between Comey and Trump by May 24.

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Then-FBI Director James Comey met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on February 14, and reportedly wrote afterward in a memo that the president asked him to abandon a federal probe into disgraced former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn

President Trump (left) had fired Flynn (center) just one day earlier, after a series of leaks established that the retired general lied to the vice president about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States; They are pictured with White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus (right) outside transition meetings in Palm Beach, Florida on December 21

Donald Trump (left) jokes with disgraced general Mike Flynn (right) on October 18, 2016

Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Tuesday evening that he would be prepared to issue a subpoena to the IRS for Comey's memo

The White House issued a statement that read: 'The President has the utmost respect for our law enforcement agencies, and all investigations. This is not a truthful or accurate portrayal of the conversation between the President and Mr. Comey.'

The White House also steered reporters toward McCabe's congressional testimony from last week.

'There has been no effort to impede our investigation to date,' McCabe told Florida Sen. Marco Rubio during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.

'Simply put, sir, you cannot stop the men and women of the FBI from doing the right thing, protecting the American people and upholding the constitution,' he added.

It remains unclear whether McCabe was referring to an investigation into the possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, which is separate from the investigation into Flynn.

Andrew McCabe, the acting FBI director who took over when Comey was fired, told a Senate panel last week that 'there has been no effort to impede our investigation to date'

Angus King (right), an independent Maine senator who caucuses with the Democratic minority, said on CNN that the Comey memo could form the basis for impeachment proceedings, 'because obstruction of justice is such a serious offense'

Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, tweeted on Tuesday: '@GOPoversight is going to get the Comey memo, if it exists. I need to see it sooner rather than later. I have my subpoena pen ready.'

Hours later, he fired off the letter to McCabe.

Chaffetz cited the New York Times report, which stated: 'Mr. Comey created similar memos -- including some that are classified -- about every phone call and meeting he had with the president, the two people said.'

Chaffetz wrote: 'If true, these memoranda raise questions as to whether the President attempted to influence or impede the FBI's investigation as it relates to Lt. Gen. Flynn.

'So the Committee can consider that question, and others, provide, no latter than May 24, 2017, all memoranda, notes, summaries, and recordings referring or relating to any communications between Comey and the President.'

An FBI agent's notes are often held up in court as credible evidence, according to the New York Times.

The existence of Comey's memo puts the former lawman on offense and the president on defense, with the White House denying that the president ever sought to influence an FBI investigation from the Oval Office

Only five days ago the president was warning Comey not to leak anything to the press, saying there might be 'tapes' of their conversations

Comey and Trump talked on February 14, according to the Times, one day after Flynn was forced out of his National Security Advisor position for lying about the nature of his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the US.

Comey recounted the meeting, claiming Trump said: 'I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go.'

'He is a good guy,' Comey remembered Trump saying, according to the Times. 'I hope you can let this go.'

An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on the existence of any contemporaneous memo written by Comey following his February 14 meeting in the Oval Office.

But if the memo is genuine, it would represent a turnabout from Trump's warning to Comey last week about the potential existence of 'tapes' of their conversations.

Comey's friends immediately started leaking to reporters that the former top cop was 'not worried about any tapes' of talks between him and the president.

'If there is a tape, there's nothing he is worried about,' one Comey confidant told CNN.

DOES TRUMP RISK IMPEACHMENT FOR 'OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE'? As the president's Democratic critics in Congress continue their drumbeat of attacks against him – and their demands for a special prosecutor to probe his alleged Russia ties – the existence of Comey's memo could give them the weapon they have been waiting for. The U.S. Constitution reserves the process of presidential impeachment for cases in which the Oval Office occupant can be prosecuted in the Senate for 'high crimes and misdemeanors.' Obstruction of justice is a federal felony, and would qualify – as it did in the articles of impeachment drawn up against Richard Nixon, who later resigned. Liberal constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe wrote Saturday in a Washington Post op-ed that Trump obstructed justice first when he allegedly asked for a guarantee of loyalty, again when he threatened Comey with 'tapes' of their conversations, and a third time when he fired him a week ago. Tribe described Nixon's obstruction offenses as a 'forecast' of Trump's future actions: 'making misleading statements to, or withholding material evidence from, federal investigators or other federal employees; trying to interfere with FBI or congressional investigations; trying to break through the FBI's shield surrounding ongoing criminal investigations; dangling carrots in front of people who might otherwise pose trouble for one's hold on power.' The federal obstruction law defines the crime as an action by someone who 'corruptly or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication, influences, obstructs, or impedes, or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede, the due administration of justice.' As the Times story's first shockwaves spread over Washington on Tuesday, CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer asked Maine Senator Angus King, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, if Americans are 'getting closer and closer to the possibility of yet another impeachment process.' 'Reluctantly, Wolf, I have to say yes simply because obstruction of justice is such a serious offense,' King replied. Advertisement

Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN that the same demand Chaffetz outlined with respect to Comey's memo should apply to any recordings of their meetings that Trump might possess.

'We should give James Comey 72 hours to produce those memos, or the FBI 27 hours to produce the memos. If they aren't produced, they should be subpoenaed,' Castro said.

'By the same token, we should give the White House 72 hours to produce those tapes, if they exist. And if those aren't produced, then they should be subpoenaed.'

In another bizarre portion of Comey's memo, as it was read to a Times reporter, the president complained that classified government information had been repeatedly leaked to the news media and urged him to consider jailing the reporters involved.

That suggestion reportedly came at the top of the Trump-Comey meeting, just after the president had asked Vice President Mike Pence and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to clear out of the Oval Office so the two men could speak privately

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that he was 'shaken' by news of Comey's memo, and warned: 'History is watching'

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said on the Senate floor shortly after the Times story broke that he was 'shaken' by the news.

Speaking in a somber tone, Schumer said: 'We are only one day removed from stunning allegations that the president may have divulged classified information to a known adversary.'

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Trump has either abused his power or committed felony obstruction of justice – or something in between

'Concerns about our national security, the rule of law, the independence of our nation's highest law enforcement agencies, are mounting. The country is being tested in unprecedented ways. I say to all of my colleagues in the Senate, history is watching,' Schumer said.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi piled on, saying in a statement that '[i]f these reports are true, the President’s brazen attempt to shut down the FBI’s investigation of Michael Flynn is an assault on the rule of law that is fundamental to our democracy.'

'At best, President Trump has committed a grave abuse of executive power. At worst, he has obstructed justice,' Pelosi claimed.

The Times reported that Comey had a reputation as a cautious note-taker who believed his written recollections of meetings, when put to paper immediately afterward, could help answer questions about events that weren't otherwise recorded.

It's unclear if Comey made similar notes after he met Trump for an intimate dinner on January 27.

Comey's associates have claimed that Trump asked his FBI director during that meeting – twice – for a pledge of loyalty. Trump has denied that claim flatly.