Ex-FBI chief James Comey will tell Congress on Thursday President Donald Trump wanted a “patronage relationship” and asked for his “loyalty”.

According to his opening statement, Mr Comey will also testify the president asked him to drop an inquiry into fired National Security Adviser Mike Flynn.

He says Mr Trump called the probe “a cloud” over him, but confirms saying the president was not under scrutiny.

Attention will now turn to Mr Comey’s responses to questions from senators.

Major TV networks are covering the hearing live, an indication that they expect a big public audience.

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It is being compared to major Congressional hearings such as the 1973 Watergate scandal and the 1987 Iran-Contra affair.

Bars across the US are opening early for the event, with some even serving special cocktails for the occasion.

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Two national security officials, NSA Director Mike Rogers and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, earlier testified to senators that they never felt pressured by the White House to do anything illegal.

But in Thursday’s Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Mr Comey will detail how Mr Trump made him uncomfortable during a series of encounters leading up to the FBI director’s firing on 9 May.

It is one of several congressional panels that, along with the Justice Department, is investigating US intelligence assessments that Russian hackers meddled in last November’s presidential election in an effort to help Mr Trump beat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

The inquiries are also investigating whether any Trump campaign officials colluded with the alleged Kremlin plot, which Moscow has repeatedly denied.