Its very likely Comey was following up on a bunch of leads implicating Trump campaign people and aides. Trump may not have been within the scope of that inquiry. Of course, if he was involved, it might eventually turn up, and the scope of the investigation expanded to include the President. When this first came up, it never occurred to me that Trump was giving away the farm to Putin. In fact, we still don't know that. All we knew was that some Trump staffers had had suspicious contacts with Russians. They weren't necessarily sinister or illegal, but they certainly needed to be looked into. The problem, as always, came with the lies and the cover-up. They were just a bit too indignant when they were asked politely. Now we need to bitch-slap them a bit til we get the truth.

I would never have believed that the President's men, much less the President himself, were involved in espionage or treason. I still don't believe that. But based on the administration's behavior, I can no longer rule it out. DAMMIT. HE'S ACTING AS IF HE WAS GUILTY! And if the investigation is not carried out satisfactorily, by an independent prosecutor, then I will have no choice but to believe it. Its like Trump's tax returns. I don't think they are necessarily fraudulent, but we have a right to see them. The fact he won't let us tells me there's something there he's trying to hide.

What I find unlikely is that Comey actually answered that question. The correct response would have been; "I'm sorry Mr President, but I cannot reveal the details of an ongoing investigation." OTOH, if POTUS asked me a direct question in good faith, I can't say I wouldn't have answered it. After all, he is the President.