WASHINGTON, D.C. -- It was a national spectacle Thursday as former FBI director James Comey testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The meeting comes after President Trump unexpectedly fired him last month. Comey said Trump requested his loyalty and later urged him to drop the investigation into ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Did you notice the North Carolina connection? North Carolina Senator and Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Richard Burr.
He was the first senator to question Comey this morning. USA Today said he wanted to prove his committee is serious and bi-partisan in its investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Burr is not the first North Carolina senator to play a big role in a publicized case. Senator Sam Ervin lead the investigation into the Watergate scandal involving President Richard Nixon
According to the Charlotte Observer, it was that investigation that gave Ervin national recognition. However, in his case, Ervin was a democrat investigating a Republican President Burr is overseeing a probe of a fellow republican. But both cases elevated their national profiles.