28 June, 2017
By a 2-to-1 margin, Americans say they are more likely to believe former FBI Director James Comey than President Donald Trump in regard to their differing accounts of the events that led up to Comey's firing, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. "He was - he did admit that what I said was right".
Trump had fired the Federal Bureau of Investigation chief in May, in part, for his handling of the inquiry into the Trump campaign's possible ties with Moscow. A week after Comey was ousted, Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller to oversee the probe.
In May, while he was still leading the FBI, Comey testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he had "never" been an anonymous source in media reports about ongoing investigations involving Trump or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The men worked closely together during the George W. Bush administration.
Trump's decision to fire Comey on May 9 became a subject of controversy after it raised suspicions on whether he was terminated over the Russian Federation investigation.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer told a news briefing that while Mr Trump "retains the authority" to dismiss special counsel Robert Mueller, "he has no intention of doing that".
Asked if he was trying to keep Mr Comey honest, Mr Trump added: "It wasn't very stupid, I can tell you that". "But there's been no collusion, no obstruction, and virtually everyone agrees to that". Adam Schiff, the committee's top Democrat, said in a statement on Thursday that Trump's Twitter comment stopped short of denying that the White House had tapes or recordings, and said the White House must respond in writing.
Meanwhile, the head of the US House of Representatives' Russia investigation said today he wanted a formal response from Mr Trump to a request for records about conversations with Mr Comey. "I mean the whole thing is ridiculous, if you want to know the truth".
"He's very, very good friends with Comey, which is bothersome", Trump told Fox News.
