National Review comments on Trump-Comey

Jim Comey Backs Up Trump’s Story, But It’s Not All Good News for Trump

[T]he FBI’s leadership and I were concerned that the briefing might create a situation where a new President came into office uncertain about whether the FBI was conducting a counter-intelligence investigation of his personal conduct…In that context, prior to the January 6 meeting, I discussed with the FBI’s leadership team whether I should be prepared to assure President-Elect Trump that we were not investigating him personally. That was true; we did not have an open counter-intelligence case on him. We agreed I should do so if circumstances warranted. During our one-on-one meeting at Trump Tower, based on PresidentElect Trump’s reaction to the briefing and without him directly asking the question, I offered that assurance.

Comey for the Record  "In short, this isn’t much of a bombshell and is going to be a very thin reed to try to build an obstruction case on."

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: James Comey’s Prepared Testimony, Explained

There’s evidence Donald Trump abused his power, but it’s not yet clear that he obstructed justice.

"Comey was right to be concerned, but he was also correct not to interpret the president’s request as an unlawful act. Obstruction of justice is a legal term with a legal meaning, and Trump’s request on its face and by itself simply doesn’t satisfy the elements of the crime. Rather than comply with the president’s request, Comey consulted with his senior leadership team and decided to keep the information closely held to avoid tainting the investigation. This strikes me as a defensible and prudent act."
. . .
"There’s no serious argument that this is appropriate behavior from an American president. Imagine for a moment testimony that President Barack Obama or a hypothetical President Hillary Clinton had a similar conversation with an FBI director. The entire conservative-media world would erupt in outrage, and rightly so. The FBI director is a law-enforcement officer, loyal to the Constitution, not the president’s consigliere. 
"Second, while the request to drop the Flynn investigation is not by itself obstruction of justice, by providing sworn testimony of the request, Comey is putting in place a piece of a larger puzzle that’s getting much closer to obstruction." . . .

Trump has to better understand not just the separation of powers but also the constitutional and legal obligations of governance, or the turmoil surrounding Comey’s termination will be but the first of a series of controversies that could well shake his presidency to its foundation.