GOP and Dem senators share the spotlight with Comey
The eight Republicans and seven Democrats on the Senate Intelligence committee each get their moments as they take turns questioning the former FBI chief who was fired last month by President Donald Trump.
The panel's members represent right, left and center of the political spectrum, including liberal Democrats who've attacked Trump relentlessly, and conservative Republicans who've defended him unreservedly.
There are potential presidential candidates past and future, senators up for re-election in a tough political climate and a couple veteran GOP lawmakers, including committee Chairman Richard Burr of North Carolina, who were re-elected last year against the odds, thanks partly to Trump's own victory.
Each lawmaker will be guided by his or her own political considerations as well as constituent orientation as they question Comey, mindful of the glare of the national spotlight.
The ousted FBI director said Trump sought his "loyalty" and asked what could be done to "lift the cloud" of investigation shadowing his White House, according to prepared remarks released ahead of his appearance Thursday.
Manchin, 69, a popular former governor of West Virginia, is the most conservative Democrat in the Senate and is running for his third term in a state Trump won by 40 percentage points.
[...] he's stuck with fellow Democrats in strongly opposing Trump on some issues, including the GOP drive to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama's health care law.
In the Capitol this week she told reporters she was preparing diligently: "Reviewing everything that has happened in previous hearings, reviewing public source documents including a lot of the interviews that you all have accumulated and conversations that you all have had as press, reviewing the timeline and the calendar around some of the dates that we know certain conversations or hearings occurred and where there were certain answers to questions, and checking to make sure that they were consistent."