Ex-WH ethics czar: 'This is the equivalent of the Nixon tapes'

A former White House ethics czar and ambassador to the Czech Republic during the Obama said Wednesday that former FBI Director James Comey's testimony is "the equivalent of the Nixon tapes."

"I think it's remarkable," Norman Eisen told CNN's Brooke Baldwin on CNN's "Newsroom." "Clearly Director Comey is looking ahead to the day beyond the hearing tomorrow when he may have to testify about this. Whether it's in an obstruction proceeding, or an impeachment proceeding, or something else."

Eisen compared the news revealed in Comey's testimony to former President Richard Nixon's secret recording of his phone calls in meetings at the White House when he was in office, which eventually played a role in his resignation.

"This moves us into the same realm as Nixon's obstruction, maybe worse," he continued. "This is the equivalent of the Nixon tapes. We are headed into very, very choppy waters."

James Comey testimony: Trump asked me to let Flynn investigation go

Eisen's remarks come after Comey's testimony, which was published Wednesday ahead of his hearing with the Senate intelligence committee, revealed that President Donald Trump asked him about former national security adviser Michael Flynn, and to "see your way clear to letting this go."

From Comey's planned remarks, posted online Wednesday: "He then said, 'I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go. I replied only that 'he is a good guy.' (In fact, I had a positive experience dealing with Mike Flynn when he was a colleague as Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency at the beginning of my term at FBI.) I did not say I would 'let this go.'"

On CNN Wednesday, Eisen called the testimony "another turn of the screw for President Trump on the obstruction of justice front."

He added that in the testimony, Comey "notes how troubled he was, and documents it, and addresses how to deal with this kind of an extraordinary intrusion on an investigation."