May 11, 2017
1:37 pm
President Trump said he decided to fire FBI Director Comey regardless of the recommendation that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein made during an exclusive interview with NBC’s Lester Holt on Thursday.
During the interview, Trump also addressed the ongoing FBI investigation into collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, and stood by his statement that Comey informed him on three occasions that he is not under investigation.
However, Trump’s answer seems to suggest that Trump’s campaign may be part of an ongoing FBI investigation.
“Look he’s a a showboat, he’s a grandstander, the FBI has been in turmoil. You know that, I know that. Everybody knows that. You take a look at the FBI a year ago, it was in virtual turmoil. Less than a year ago, it hasn’t recovered from that,” Trump told Holt.
Holt asked Trump if he asked Rosenstein for a recommendation when they met on Monday.
Trump informed Holt that he had already made the decision to fire Comey before he received Rosenstein’s recommendation.
“I was going to fire regardless of recommendation,” Trump told Holt when Holt asked Trump about his statement regarding Comey’s dismissal, which cited Rosenstein’s recommendation as the reason why Comey was fired.
Holt then asked Trump about Comey’s termination letter, in which Trump claims Comey told Trump on three different occasions that he is not under investigation.
Trump told Holt that Comey informed him that he was not under investigation during a dinner, and then two other times by phone.
Holt followed up by asking Trump if he specifically asked Comey whether he is under investigation.
“I actually asked him, yes,” Trump told Holt. “I said, ‘If it’s possible, would you let me know am I under investigation?’ He said, ‘You are not under investigation.'”
Holt points out that Comey has said that the Trump campaign is under investigation for possible collusion with Russia, and that Trump was the center of that campaign.
“I know that I’m not under investigation, me personally. I’m not talking about campaigns, I’m not talking about anything else. I’m not under investigation,” Trump responds.
Trump’s answer would indicate that Trump’s campaign is possibly under investigation.
