Good Thursday morning. I'm Jake Sherman and welcome to your political playbook audio briefing sponsored by Samsung.

And I'm Anna Palmer. Get ready for what we're calling Throwdown Thursday. Fired FBI director James Comey's testimony before the Senate Intel Committee kicks off at 10 a.m.

All the networks and the cable networks are covering the hearing live. If Comey's

much buzzed-about statement is any indication of his savvy and willingness to dish, Trump will

be more than tweeting today. We expect he'll be seething. As for Trump, he's got a pretty light

schedule. He's speaking at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's Road to the Majority Conference at 12.15 p.m. and will host governors and mayors at the White House for an infrastructure briefing

at 3.30 p.m. You'll note, Trump has nothing before his 1215 speech and some of the newsiest bits

of Comey's hearing are expected at the top. The New York Times is Peter Baker and Glenn Thrush have

their big picture take on Comey's political shrewdness and how it's

been on display since he was fired, particularly by authorizing the immediate release of his opening

statement. As the two report, in the month since his firing, Comey has shown why presidents are

normally hesitant to fire FBI directors. The Republican National Committee

sent an email at 9.56 p.m. last night to people around town with the subject line talking

points in digital packet for Senate Intelligence Committee hearing. The first item under, quote,

top takeaway is, quote, President Trump feels completely and totally vindicated by former FBI director

James Comey's opening testimony and is eager to move

forward. The Wall Street Journal is reporting the RNC has dedicated 60 aides to the pushback effort.

Politico's got a story up on the counterattack and how the White House has outsourced its

counter messaging effort in an attempt by aides to avoid personal legal risk.

Two former Trump White House officials, former Deputy Chief of Staff, Katie Walsh,

and former communications director, Mike Dubke, are helping coordinate the effort.

For an official comment, the White House has directed all questions to the Office of Trump's

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