Comey was fired after asking for more resources for Russia probe

Three US officials said Wednesday that before he was fired, FBI Director James Comey told lawmakers he had asked the Justice Department for more money for the bureau’s investigation into Russia’s election meddling.

The abrupt firing of Comey by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday threw into question the future of the FBI’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible connections to Russia, and immediately raised suspicions of an underhanded effort to stymie a probe that has shadowed the administration from the outset. Trump has ridiculed the investigations as “a hoax” and denied any campaign involvement with the Russians.

The officials said that Comey told lawmakers he had made the request for more funding to Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general.

The White House has wielded a critical memo from Rosenstein to justify Trump’s decision to fire Comey. The memo focused only on Comey’s handling of last year’s investigation into former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s email practices, and did not mention the Russia investigation.

The Justice Department denied that Comey had asked for more resources for the investigation.

The officials were not authorized to disclose the meetings publicly and insisted on anonymity.

Trump defended his firing of Comey on Wednesday, asserting in a flurry of tweets that both Democrats and Republicans “will be thanking me.” Trump did not mention any effect the dismissal might have on FBI and congressional investigations into contacts between his 2016 election campaign and Russia.

In brief remarks to reporters in the Oval Office Trump said only that he had fired Comey “because he was not doing a good job.” Reporters were surprised to find that Trump had brought Henry Kissinger to the Oval Office for the briefing. Kissinger was secretary of state and national security adviser under the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

Pool brought into the Oval. It's Trump and … Kissinger. pic.twitter.com/1F1CPO4kQw

— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) May 10, 2017

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who met on Wednesday with Trump, said it was “humiliating” for the American people to hear that Russia is controlling the political situation in the US.

Lavrov spoke at the Russian Embassy in Washington after meetings with Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. He said that politicians raising questions about Russian interference in the election were damaging the US political system by suggesting that it is being controlled externally.

He brushed off as “noise” the questions about Russians’ contacts with people in Trump’s campaign. He said through a translator that “there is not a single fact” or piece of compelling evidence proving Russia’s intervention in the election.

Lavrov also pointed out that Trump had dismissed the controversy as “false news.”

Asked by a reporter whether the Comey’s firing would “cast a shadow” over talks with Tillerson, Lavrov replied, “Was he fired?… You are kidding, you are kidding.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin told CBS that Comey’s firing would have “no effect” on Russia’s relations with the US. He spoke as he was about to participate in an ice hockey game in the resort city of Sochi.

“There will be no effect,” Putin said through a translator. “Your question looks very funny for me. Don’t be angry with me. We have nothing to do with that.

“President Trump is acting in accordance with his competence, in accordance with his law and Constitution,” the Russian leader continued. “What about us? Why we?”

Our @elizapalmer caught Russian Pres. Putin rink side and asked him about the firing of former. Dir. Comey. pic.twitter.com/3nytJYi0si

— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) May 10, 2017

Democrats compared the ouster to Nixon’s decision to fire the independent special prosecutor overseeing the Watergate investigation in 1973, which prompted the resignations of the Justice Department’s top two officials.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York urged Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Rosenstein, his deputy, to appear before the Senate to answer questions about the circumstances surrounding Trump’s action.

Schumer told Trump in a phone call he thought dumping Comey was a mistake. On Wednesday, Trump labeled the Senate minority leader “Cryin’ Chuck Schumer.”

“This is Nixonian,” Democrat Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania declared on Twitter. “Outrageous,” said Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, calling for Comey to immediately be summoned to testify to Congress about the status of the Trump-Russia investigation. Rep. Adam Schiff of California, top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said the White House was “brazenly interfering” in the probe.

Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona said Congress must form a special committee to investigate Russia’s interference in the election.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell brushed aside calls for a special prosecutor or committee, saying a new investigation into Russian meddling would only “impede the current work being done.” He noted that Democrats had repeatedly criticized Comey in the past and some had called for his removal.

Trump made a similar case on Twitter, saying Comey had “lost the confidence of almost everyone in Washington,” adding: “When things calm down, they will be thanking me!”

Comey lost the confidence of almost everyone in Washington, Republican and Democrat alike. When things calm down, they will be thanking me!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2017

Vice-President Mike Pence said at the Capitol that Trump had made “the right decision at the right time.”

The Justice Department said Sessions was interviewing candidates to serve as an interim replacement. Comey’s deputy, FBI veteran Andrew McCabe, became acting director after Comey was fired.

In a brief dismissal letter Tuesday to Comey, Trump said the firing was necessary to restore “public trust and confidence” in the FBI. The administration paired the letter with a scathing review by Rosenstein of how Comey handled the investigation into Clinton’s email practices, including his decision to hold a news conference announcing its findings and releasing “derogatory information” about Clinton.

While Comey has drawn anger from Democrats since he reopened the email investigation in the closing days of last year’s campaign, they didn’t buy that justification for his firing. Several Republicans joined them in raising alarms of how it could affect probes into possible coordination between Trump associates and Russia to influence the 2016 election.

It was only the second firing of an FBI director in history. President Bill Clinton dismissed William Sessions amid allegations of ethical lapses in 1993.

Comey, 56, was nominated by president Barack Obama for the FBI post in 2013 to a 10-year term, though that appointment does not ensure a director will serve the full term.