"I was right": As Trump watched Comey, anxiety yielded to relief

His top advisers, especially his chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, were worried that the president would defy Mr. Kasowitz and take to Twitter to vent his pique with Mr. Comey, who he believes is on a personal mission to destroy his presidency. West Wing staff members expressed relief when the president’s Twitter feed remained quiet even after Mr. Comey accused him of telling “lies, plain and simple,” in an effort to smear his reputation and that of the bureau…

For their part, many of Mr. Trump’s aides were less than impressed by the public performance of Mr. Kasowitz, a lawyer based in New York who has earned the president’s respect and, for the moment, his situational obedience. A hastily drafted initial statement to the news media contained typos — “president” was misspelled — and he delivered it in a harried monotone, staring down at his text, to reporters gathered at the National Press Club.

Gradually, however, the concerns of any single news cycle are giving way to longer-term worries about the course of the investigation, and several West Wing aides have expressed concern about the possibility of being blindsided by new revelations.

Several current and former Trump aides said they were especially concerned about Mr. Kasowitz’s unqualified assertion that the president had “never told Mr. Comey, ‘I need loyalty, I expect loyalty,’” as Mr. Comey said on Thursday.