As Trump continues to hit Comey, acting FBI director gives a strong defense of his „integrity“<\/b>
\nAdding yet another twist to a shifting White House narrative, President Trump said Thursday that he had decided to fire FBI Director James B. Comey regardless of whether the Justice Department recommended it, calling the ousted director \u201ca showboat\u201d and \u201ca grandstander.\u201d
Trump\u2019s comments, which contradicted previous White House statements, further fueled the political and legal furor in Washington over his unceremonious sacking of Comey, who was leading an expanding FBI investigation into whether Trump\u2019s advisors cooperated with Russian intelligence agents during the presidential campaign last year.
In a bipartisan move that highlighted the mounting concern on Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) invited Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein to brief all senators early next week on Comey\u2019s dismissal.
Similarly, both parties\u2019 leaders on the House Intelligence Committee, Reps. K. Michael Conaway (R-Texas) and Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) , warned in a statement that their panel \u201cwill be conducting rigorous oversight to ensure that the FBI’s own investigation is not impeded or interfered with in any way.\u201d
The tumult overshadowed the White House and Congress for a third day in what appeared the most serious crisis of Trump\u2019s presidency so far. His aides scrambled to keep up with the president\u2019s changing accounts, even as the acting FBI director separately rejected Trump\u2019s claim that Comey\u2019s tenure had left the bureau \u201cin turmoil.\u201d
Comey \u201cenjoyed broad support within the FBI and still does, \u201d Andrew McCabe, a career FBI agent who became acting director after Comey\u2019s abrupt ouster Tuesday, told the Senate Intelligence Committee.
McCabe testified at an annual Senate hearing that reviews security threats around the globe. It instead featured extensive questioning about Russian meddling in the 2016 election, the FBI investigation into possible coordination between Trump\u2019s campaign and Moscow, and Comey\u2019s dismissal.
McCabe said the FBI would continue to vigorously pursue the Russia investigation and would inform the committee if agents faced political interference from the White House.
\u201cYou cannot stop the men and women of the FBI from doing the right thing, \u201d he said.
In an interview with Lester Holt of NBC News, Trump contradicted a statement released by the White House on Tuesday that said he had fired Comey \u201cbased on the clear recommendations\u201d of Rosenstein and Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions.
\u201cI was going to fire regardless of recommendation, \u201d Trump said Thursday, repeating his intention a moment later.
Over the last two days, White House officials repeatedly had said Trump did not decide to sack Comey until after he met with Sessions and Rosenstein in the Oval Office on Monday.
At that meeting, Trump complained about Comey and asked the two top Justice Department officials for their opinions \u2013 then asked for them in writing. On Tuesday, the White House pointed in particular to Rosenstein\u2019s response, a three-page memo that harshly criticized Comey\u2019s public statements about the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton\u2019s email practices.
But Rosenstein pushed to correct that narrative, resulting in a revised White House statement late Wednesday that made clear Trump already had been considering firing Comey. The Justice Department denied reports that Rosenstein threatened to resign over the dispute.
In his NBC interview, Trump seemed far more outraged by Comey\u2019s recent testimony to Congress than his criticism last year of Clinton\u2019s email practices, which Trump had lauded at the time. The president said Thursday that Comey\u2019s penchant for publicity had damaged the bureau.
\u201cLook, he\u2019s a showboat, he\u2019s a grandstander, the FBI has been in turmoil, \u201d Trump told Holt. \u201cYou know that. I know that. Everybody knows that.\u201d
In testimony to two congressional committees since March, Comey confirmed that the FBI was conducting a counter-intelligence investigation aimed at some of Trump\u2019s aides, forcefully rejected Trump\u2019s claims that President Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower, and said he was \u201cmildly nauseous\u201d at the thought his actions affected the election outcome.
Trump also described how he repeatedly pressed Comey for assurances he was not a target of the FBI investigation. While not illegal, it\u2019s highly unusual for a sitting president to seek details on an ongoing criminal inquiry because of policies prohibiting political interference in FBI cases.
Trump said Comey told him he was not under investigation during a dinner at the White House after the inauguration. He said Comey asked to stay on as FBI director.
\u201cAnd I said I\u2019 ll consider and we\u2019 ll see what happens, \u201d Trump said. \u201cBut we had a very nice dinner. And at that time he told me, \u2018You are not under investigation.\u2019 \u201d
Trump distanced himself from those who worked for his presidential campaign, however. The FBI has interviewed at least two of his former advisors, and a grand jury in Virginia has issued subpoenas for documents.
\u201cWell, all I can tell you is\u2026 I know that I\u2019 m not under investigation, \u201d Trump said. \u201cMe. Personally. I\u2019 m not talking about campaigns. I\u2019 m not talking about anything else. I\u2019 m not under investigation.\u201d
Trump said he was not trying to stop the Russia investigation; he only wanted to speed it up.
\u201cThis Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story; it\u2019s an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won, \u201d he said.
McCabe, who was Comey\u2019s deputy, declined to confirm those conversations at the Senate hearing. But he said it is not standard FBI practice to inform subjects if they are under investigation. He also said it was unusual for someone not involved in a crime to ask the question.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House deputy press secretary, said Trump did nothing wrong by asking about the investigation while Comey was asking to keep his job. \u201cI don’t see that as a conflict of interest, \u201d she said.
She dismissed questions about the shifting White House stories of the firing and said new leadership was needed at the FBI, partly to bring the Russia investigation to a swift close. \u201cI don\u2019 t think that, you know, the back-and-forth makes that much difference, \u201d she said.
McCabe took issue with reports that Comey asked for additional resources for the Russia inquiry last week, saying that he was unaware of such a request and that the investigation had \u201cadequate resources.\u201d
\u201cIt is my opinion and belief that the FBI will continue to pursue this investigation completely and vigorously, \u201d he said.
But he also took pains to emphasize the bureau\u2019s independence, vowing that he would not update the White House on the progress of the investigation.
A day after Sanders called the FBI\u2019s counter-intelligence investigation \u201cprobably one of the smallest things that they\u2019 ve got going on their plate, \u201d McCabe disagreed, calling it \u201ca highly significant investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

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