Transcript of Former FBI Director James Comey's Questioning Released |

UPDATE: The FBI's counterintelligence investigation into potential ties between the Trump campaign and Russia initially focused on four Americans and whether they were connected to Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

That's according to a closed-door interview former FBI director James Comey gave Friday to the House Judiciary Committee. The panel released a transcript of that questioning on Saturday.

Comey did not identify the Americans but said President Donald Trump himself was not one of them.

He also said that President Barack Obama never ordered him to have the FBI surveil or infiltrate the Trump campaign.

The Republican-led committee interviewed Comey as part of its investigation into FBI actions in 2016.

Former FBI Director James Comey has reached a deal to testify privately to the House Judiciary Committee, backing off his legal fight for an open hearing.

Comey said in a tweet Sunday that it was "hard to protect my rights without being in contempt" and that he will "sit in the dark." He said Republicans, who lead the committee, told him he's free to speak afterward and that a transcript would be released a day later.

Comey's lawyers went to court Friday to challenge a subpoena that would require him to answer questions about the FBI and decisions made during the 2016 presidential election. Comey had been pushing for a public hearing.

His lawyer said an "accommodation" had been reached and that more details would be available later.