Kamala Harris likens Trump's request to end Flynn investigation to holding a 'gun to somebody's head'

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., reacts during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing about the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, June 7, 2017, in Washington.

Democratic Senator Kamala Harris of California used a vivid metaphor to describe President Donald Trump's conduct as she addressed former FBI Director James Comey at his Senate Intelligence Committee hearing Thursday.

"When a robber held a gun to somebody's head and said, 'I hope you will give me your wallet,' the word 'hope' was not the most operative word at the moment," Harris said Thursday.

Harris was referring to Comey's prepared remarks that were released Wednesday, in which he accused Trump of asking him to end the FBI's investigation into Michael Flynn, the former national security advisor. Trump had said, "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go," according to Comey.

Harris' questions and comments to Comey on Thursday drew both praise and criticism, as she doggedly pursued a series of questions that Comey repeatedly said he couldn't answer in an open session. She also asked whether Attorney General Jeff Sessions had played a role in the FBI's Russia probe even after recusing himself.

"I don't know of any information that would lead me to believe he did something to touch the Russia investigation after the recusal," Comey replied.

Harris had also made headlines on Wednesday during a different committee hearing with intelligence leaders, after she was admonished by her GOP colleagues for interrupting Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

"The chair is going to exercise the right to allow the witnesses to answer the question, and the committee is on notice to provide the witnesses the courtesy - which has not been extended all the way across - for questions to get answered," chairman Richard Burr said.