Sacked FBI head wanted more muscle for probe

With the Republican president facing a storm of criticism from many Democratic lawmakers and some in his own party, the Trump administration accused Comey of “atrocities” on the job and denied his firing was related to the FBI’s Russia investigation. Trump, who met Russia’s foreign minister at the White House yesterday, lashed out at critics, calling Democrats “phony hypocrites,” and defended his decision to abruptly oust Comey on Tuesday from the law enforcement post he held since 2013. 

Democrats intensified accusations that Comey’s removal was intended to undermine the Federal Bureau of Investigation probe and demanded an independent investigation into the alleged Russian meddling, with some calling the firing an attempt to cover up wrongdoing related to Russia. Top US Republicans rallied to Trump’s defense, but some called the action troubling. 

The firing stunned Washington and plunged Trump deeper into a controversy over his campaign’s alleged ties with Russia that has dogged the early days of his presidency, while also threatening to hinder his policy goals. 

“He wasn’t doing a good job, very simply,” the Republican president said of Comey during a meeting with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in the White House Oval Office. A congressional source with knowledge of the matter said Comey told lawmakers within the past few days he had asked the Justice Department to make additional resources available - mainly more staffing - for the Russia probe. 

Comey informed lawmakers of that request after the Senate Intelligence Committee, conducting its own investigation, had asked the FBI to speed up its Russia inquiry, the source said. A day after Trump’s stunning dismissal of Comey, protesters gathered in Washington, Chicago and other cities to urge an independent investigation of alleged collusion between Russia and Trump’s presidential campaign. 

Waving signs and chanting outside the White House and at Senate constituency offices in other states, demonstrators said Trump’s move had compromised the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s probe. White House officials have denied any political motivation behind the firing and Trump said Comey had not been doing a good job and had lost the confidence of everyone in Washington. 

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will host foreign ministers from Arctic nations at a summit in Alaska today, where President Donald Trump’s reluctance to fight climate change will likely cast a shadow over talks. The Arctic Council, which includes the United States, Russia, Canada and five other countries, meets every two years to tackle problems in the region.