My son asks me why Mr. Comey would document the conversation with President Trump.
"Oh," I say, "For the same reason that I tell domestic violence patients to keep a diary. A diary is admissible in court. If Mr. Comey documents right after the meeting, and it's logged with a time stamp, I think that is admissible in court."
"Wow." says my son.
"When I see a domestic violence patient, I am very specific in the chart. I want the full name of the possible abuser, their age, their date of birth. I do not just say "spouse". I type in threats that the patient reports, date, time, details and I document the injuries very carefully. Because my chart note can be used in court, and the more specific detail, the better. And if the domestic violence victim is not ready to leave for safety, I ask them to keep a diary, with dates, times, specific detail. Because it can be used in court."
"If Mr. Comey felt that he was being asked to compromise his ethics for loyalty, or if he was concerned that that issue would arise, documenting every bit of the conversation immediately afterwards with a time stamp is appropriate. Then if he has to testify, he can refer to those notes. He is thinking in terms of protecting the ethics of his country, the government, the presidency. I applaud him."
My son: "What do you think about them both testifying in court?"
"I think that it comes down to ethics in the past. If they have differing reports, my concern for President Trump relates to an article about NY Real Estate sales. https://newrepublic.com/article/140973/lying-easy-trump. If his previous job has multiple examples of questionable ethics, also known as lies, then his testimony will be suspect. I suspect that Mr. Comey has a solid and unimpeachable record re testimony."
There is no real loyalty without ethics. That is, the loyalty must be to the truth and to the honor of the law abiding officer and the law abiding president.