It's the evening of Friday, January 27th, 2017 at the White House.

Seven days after Donald Trump's inauguration, FBI director James Comey stands in the doorway

of the green room with a lump in his throat.

He's nervous. When President Trump called earlier today and invited him to dinner, Comey assumed

there'd be other guests. But inside the green room, all Comey sees is a table set for two.

Comey is in charge of a criminal investigation into whether Trump's campaign colluded with

the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election, which means this one-on-one

dinner with the president is likely to be awkward. At precisely 6.30pm, Trump arrives and

sees Comey standing in the doorway.

I like that. I like people who are on time. I think a leader should always be on time.

Trump gestures to the table, and the two men sit down for dinner. Not long into their

meal, Trump asks a sudden and blunt question. So, what do you want to do?

The question catches Comey off guard. He's not entirely sure what the president means.

Before he processes how to respond, Trump launches into a monologue.

See, lots of people want to be the FBI director, but I think very highly of you. Very highly.

I've heard great things about you, and I know the people at the FBI think very highly of you, too.

By understanding if you want to walk away, given everything you've been through.

Of course, if you walk away, that's bad, because it might look like you did something wrong.

I know I can make a change at the FBI if I want to, but I want to know what you think.

When Comey finally gets a chance to respond, he chooses his words carefully. Mr. President,

you can of course fire the FBI director anytime you wish. Well, I want to stay and do the job.

I love the job. I find the job extremely rewarding, and I'd like to finish out my term.

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