Senator John McCain evidently picked up on the country's confusion at his...confusion.

McCain issues a statement on his hearing questions, suggests he shouldn't "stay up late watching Diamondbacks night games" pic.twitter.com/09sSpT0Vcn

— Jeremy Herb (@jeremyherb) June 8, 2017

Watch Trump lawyer's response live:

Senator John McCain has been one of the more outspoken Republican critics of Donald Trump. This is one of the reasons why his line of questioning at today's hearing was so baffling.

He spoke of some "double standard" relating to the ongoing investigation into the Trump team's potential collusion with Russian officials and the concluded investigation into Clinton's emails. This was a very awkward attempt to muddle the conversation by bringing up conservatives' favorite punching bag, but it makes very little sense in terms of the overarching conversation on Trump, potential obstruction of justice, White House lies, and collusion.

I'm honestly confused with McCain's line of questioning. McCain wants to know if the Clinton camp colluded w/ Russians so they could lose?

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 8, 2017

In his testimony today, Comey has confirmed on public record that - after Trump began defaming him following his ouster - he was moved to share his memos with the explicit purpose of leaking to the press with the goal of initiating a special council. This is an extraordinary admission, and also provides all the more reason for Trump to keep quiet on Twitter for his own sake. Will he actually begin exercising self-control? Based on his track record, probably not.

Comey just dropped a BIG bombshell about how Trump's tapes tweet set things in motion for him pic.twitter.com/NN8Snh7I1u

— HuffPost (@HuffPost) June 8, 2017

Pretty pathetic damage control from GOP leadership underway. Paul Ryan - the Wisconsin Republican and speaker of the house - argued that:

The president’s new at this. He’s new at government.

This doesn't really hold up. First of all, he's surrounded by seasoned staff including high-profile GOP operatives. Most importantly, this is the presidency of the United States of America, not a run-of-the-mill job. This defense is, itself, quite indefensible.

“Release all the tapes, I’m good with it," Comey tells the Senate Intel Committee, in reference to Trump's claim that he has tapes of his calls with Comey. 

Bluster or fact? Does Trump actually have tapes?

The GOP defense of Trump's potential obstruction of justice is incredibly uninspiriing. Recall when the GOP tore into Obama for not having the right experience for the job? Well, those same standards don't seem to apply now.

BREAKING: WASHINGTON (AP) — @SpeakerRyan says FBI director needs to be independent, says Trump unfamiliar with protocol, 'just new to this'

— Meg Kinnard (@MegKinnardAP) June 8, 2017

Evidently, Trump's silence is part of a larger damage control operation:

Trump attorney Marc Kasowitz will deliver a statement after the Comey hearing

— Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) June 8, 2017

Trump's aids most have scored a small victory. Normally quite active on Twitter, especially during periods of stress, Trump has been silent on the social media platform so far. There was some speculation ahead of today's hearing that Trump may live tweet during the testimony. That hasn't happened yet. 

Comey says that as an investigator, Trump kicking everyone else out before requesting Comey drop the Flynn investigation is "a very significant fact." 

Could these simple la enforcement conclusions be used in a legal case for obstruction of justice? 

Senator Heinrich brings up the private one-on-one dinner during which Trump allegedly requested loyalty. Come confirms that he had never had a one-one-one dinner with a president, and that in anticipation of that evening he thought that he could not possibly be the only invitee. 

Outside of legal issues, Trump’s totally inappropriate manner of management is on full display. His ploys to establish patronage are straight out of a strong man leader’s playbook. 

Below is Comey's take on the "patronage" conversation he had over dinner with Trump. 

“I got the sense my job would be contingent upon how he felt I conducted myself and whether I demonstrated loyalty, but I don’t know that I’d go so far as to connect it to the [Russia] investigation.”

While he may not go so far as to connect this conversation to the investigation, Comey has also said that one of the main reasons he was fired - according to the president himself, in fact - was the Russia investigation. 

Some conservative critics see Comey's testimony as a smoking gun.

In reviewing James Comey's written testimony, some credit President Trump for ignorance. That's not what I see. https://t.co/4t1KBv3yUe

— Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) June 7, 2017

Discussing the moment that Trump asked for Comey to drop the Flynn probe, Comey tells the Senate Intel Comittee: "Lordy I hope there are tapes," in reference to Trump's tweet that he is possession of damning tapes of his conversations with Comey.

James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017

According to Reuters, a Trump associate has confirmed that Trump disputes two key points in Comey's written testimony - that Trump pushed Comey to drop the Flynn investigation and that Trump never asked Comey for loyalty. That's pretty big. Will there be legal action taken against Comey? Trump loves threatening people with libel and defamation. 

Comey’s breakdown of the meeting in which Trump requested that the former FBI director drop the investigation into Michael Flynn is embarrassing for Trump. According to Comey, who met with Trump and key staff, it seemed like both Sessions and Kushner picked up that Trump wanted along time with Comey to engage in something illicit. Comey said that Sessions lingered, and Kushner seemed privy that Trump was about to do something that required consultation with aids and staff. 

Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked James Comey to change the language describing the Russia probe from "investigation" to a "matter." Increasingly, it looks like other members of the Trump Administration could also be guilty of obstruction of justice. 

Jess Sessions has recently fallen out of favor with Trump. It became public when Trump thrashed his own DOJ for releasing a "politically correct" version of his travel ban, much to the dismay of his lawyers. Sessions has purpetedly offered to step down. Part of his motivation for offering a resignation could mean he sees a ship going down. 

Those are the words of Comey, relating to Trump's claims about the FBI being in disarray and his unsubstantiated claims about the agency's leadership. 

He also refuses to draw a conclusion from Trump's request that he drop the Flynn investigation, saying only that they were disturbing and that he's sure the committee is equipped to handle the conclusion-making. 

Wow. Comey just up and called Trump a liar in his opening remarks.

Comey tells the gathered senators he grew "confused and concerned" at Trump's wildly fluctuating explanations for his firing. First it was the Clinton probe, then it was Russia, then it was because Comey was bad at his job...

Warner wasted little time breaking down the deceit of the Trump Administration and affirming what Comey wrote it his released testimony. "Think about that," Warner says, referring to a sitting president requested an investigation be dropped.

Chris Hayes at MSNBC sums up this simple (yet noxious) nexus:

The President told the director of the FBI to lay off his close aide, lied about doing so and fired the director when he persisted.

— Christopher Hayes (@chrislhayes) June 7, 2017

Senator Burr - the Republican chair of the committee - has kicked things off.

He indicates that he wants Comey to confirm whether or not Trump truly tried to create a "patronage relationship," and if any of Trump's awkward encounters with Comey impacted the ongoing investigation into the Trump Administration's potential collusion with Russian officials. 

As the senators take their seats, now might be a good time to remind the world that going in to today Trump has historically low approval ratings. REALLY bad approval ratings hovering around 34%.

While the hearing is underway today, Republicans in the House will vote to eliminate Dodd-Frank - the financial regulation designed to help prevent another catastrophic economic meltdown like the housing crisis and to protect consumers from predatory practices.

Ever pragmatic, Republicans are using the din of excitement to their advantage in order to pass their highly unpopular agenda.

Meanwhile, the House is voting to put the hammer to Dodd-Frank today, via @donnaborak https://t.co/HOiF8TSl7K

— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) June 8, 2017

Called by some pundits the "Super Bowl" of politics, today brings us James Comey's testimony before the US Senate Intel Committee. Released yesterday, Comey's opening remarks indicate that, while he did inform Trump he was not personally under investigation in the Russia probe, the flailing president did push Comey to drop the investigation into former NSA Director Michael Flynn and to "lift" the cloud of the Russia investigation. It also posits that Trump demanded "loyalty," something that the head of a supposedly non-partisan, independent body like the FBI can't (and shouldn't) provide a president. Stay with us for rolling coverage of today's historic event.