Trump contradicts White House on reasons for Comey firing
Posted May 12, 2017 04:58:11 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is contradicting previous White House explanations for the firing of James Comey as FBI director.
Trump says in an interview with NBC News that he had planned to fire Comey all along, regardless of the recommendations of top Justice Department officials.
Initially the White House cited a Justice Department memo criticizing Comey’s handling of last year’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails as the impetus for Trump’s decision.
On Capitol Hill, acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe strongly disputed the White House’s assertion that Comey had been fired in part because Comey had lost the confidence of the FBI’s rank-and-file.
In the NBC interview, Trump derided Comey as a “showboat” and “grandstander” and said Comey had left the FBI in “virtual turmoil.”
