Washington: Donald Trump said on Thursday he asked his now-fired FBI director on three occasions whether he was the target of ongoing investigations, stoking allegations of presidential interference.
"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," he said in an interview with NBC, appearing to link Comey's firing with the investigation
"I actually asked him, yes. I said, 'If it's possible would you let me know, am I under investigation?'"
"He said, 'You are not under investigation,'" Trump recounted, repeating an assertion made when the White House announced Comey's firing Tuesday.
"All I can tell you is, well I know what, 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."
US presidents are normally at pains to avoid any suggestion of interference or even commenting on ongoing investigations. The FBI typically does not confirm their existence.
Asking such a question "would come close to bribery... or at least obstruction of justice, which Comey would've had to be an idiot to fall for by offering the assurance sought," Tribe said.
The White House rejected the suggestion the exchange was inappropriate. "I don't see it as a conflict of interest," White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
"I was going to fire him regardless of recommendations," said the president. "He's a showboat, he's a grandstander."What's the reason?
"There has been no effort to impede our investigation to date," acting director Andrew McCabe told the Senate Intelligence Committee, in a hearing that capped two days of high drama provoked by the dismissal.
"You cannot stop the men and women of the FBI from doing the right thing," he said. "All of the agents involved in the investigation are still in their positions."
Trump told NBC that had Russia interfered in the 2016 election, it would have been "horrible."
He repeated denials of links between his campaign and Moscow.
"There's no collusion between me, my campaign and the Russians," he said.'Broad support'
While Trump said the outgoing FBI director had left the agency in "turmoil," McCabe rejected any suggestion that Comey had lost the support of the rank and file.
"Director Comey enjoyed broad support within the FBI and still does today," he told the committee.
"He was leading an active counterintelligence investigation into any links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government or its representatives, and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia's efforts to interfere in our election."
"For many people, including myself, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the president's decision to remove Director Comey was related to this investigation."
McCabe gave no information on the status of the FBI probe, which dates back to July last year when the agency became aware of alleged Russian hacking of Democratic party computers and communications.
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