WATCH – Trump on Firing Comey: ‘I Said, You Know, This Russia Thing With Trump and Russia Is a Made Up Story’
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Did Trump Fire Comey to Interfere With or End the Russia Investigation?
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Top Democratic Senator Says ‘Clear as Day’
President Donald Trump says he was thinking about the Russia investigation when he decided to fire FBI Director James Comey. “I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story,” the President tells NBC News anchor Lester Holt he said at the time.
The President said that regardless of the recommendation he received from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, “I was going to fire Comey knowing there’s no good time to do it. And in fact when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, ‘I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story, it’s an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won.'”
Pres. Trump on firing Comey: “I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story.” https://t.co/hxqM1LI6BE
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) May 11, 2017
Democratic Senator Dick Durbin says it’s “clear as day” that Trump admitted he fired Director Comey because of the FBI’s investigation of him:
Here’s President Trump admitting he fired Director Comey because of the FBI’s investigation of him. Clear as day. https://t.co/IZEKqYgoAh
— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) May 11, 2017
On Twitter, others are agreeing, saying Trump’s remarks prove he fired Comey because of the Russia investigation.
1. Trump admits he fired Comey to try to impede the Russia investigation. https://t.co/r15kDsEo2P
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) May 11, 2017
So Trump not only conceded his entire rationale for firing Comey was a lie, he conceded the gravest motive allegation from his opponents.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) May 11, 2017
2. This is probably the closest anyone has ever come to saying, “I did it to obstruct justice”
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) May 11, 2017
Cool confession, bro. Tell it again. https://t.co/JfWeTyOeWc
— David Waldman (@KagroX) May 11, 2017
Extraordinary statement by POTUS. DEFCON2 https://t.co/lTwB8ueKGS
— Eric Lipton (@EricLiptonNYT) May 11, 2017
The President acknowledging he the fired director of the FBI bc of investigation he was leading into Trump campaign collusion with Russia https://t.co/3VvMHI31dY
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) May 11, 2017
Anyhow, no reason to think it was about Russia besides the president mentioning it in the announcement, on Twitter the day before, and on TV
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) May 11, 2017
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