Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates says that President Trump's firing of former FBI Director James Comey was "not terribly well done".
President Trump fired the director of the FBI, in the fourth year of his 10-year term, because the president was upset that Mr. Comey was leading an FBI investigation of possible collusion between Russian Federation and the Trump campaign in 2016.
But in an interview with NBC News' Lester Holt aired on Thursday, Trump said - surprise! - that he had chose to fire Comey before Rosenstein weighed in with his criticism. In July, Comey said in a press conference that he would not recommend criminal charges against Clinton.
Comey again promised his "honesty", but did not pledge loyalty, the Times reported. They have argued that the White House's explanation - that Comey was terminated due to his handling over the Clinton investigation - meant Trump could have fired him months ago.
Friday marked Spicer's first appearance at the podium since the firing of Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey.
Asked whether anyone in the White House had an audio recording of the dinner, as Trump suggested in a tweet earlier on Friday, Spicer said: "I'm not aware of that".
"And I think that's where there's a lot of dismay and I don't think it's something that's just alone the President feels".
Kawhi Leonard expected to play Game 1 vs. Golden State
This was, without a doubt, the worst game the Rockets played all year, and there really is nothing to sugarcoat about this game. Pau Gasol paired 10 points with 11 boards for San Antonio, which trailed 5-4 in the first quarter before rolling to victory.
Apparently angered by criticism of the different accounts of the sacking, Mr Trump used another of his tweets on Friday to say: "As a very active President with lots of things happening, it is not possible for my surrogates to stand at podium with flawless accuracy!" Trump tweeted. "Maybe the best thing to do would be to cancel all future "press briefings" and hand out written responses for the sake of accuracy???"
"I assume you're referring to the tweet", Spicer responded, "and I've talked to the President and the President has nothing further to add on that".
The reference to tapes has done nothing to silence the echoes of the Watergate affair that have resounded around the Russian interference inquiry.
Michael Beschloss, a leading presidential historian, said on Twitter: "Presidents are supposed to have stopped routinely taping visitors without their knowledge when Nixon's taping system was revealed in 1973".
The FBI probe and parallel congressional investigations have hung over Trump's presidency since he took office in January and threaten to overwhelm his policy priorities.
"I can confidently tell you that the vast majority of employees enjoyed a deep and positive connection to Director Comey", Mr McCabe said.
Comments