"James Comey better hope that there are no 'tapes; of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!" Trump, then the Republican Presidential Nominee, reacted favourably to the news.
Trump's bareknuckle comments immediately fueled fresh comparisons between his administration and that of disgraced president Richard Nixon, who famously recorded his conversations - a fact that sped his downfall during the Watergate scandal.
During a Friday morning tweetstorm, the president appeared to imply that there are tapes of his private conversations with Comey, who Trump fired earlier this week.
Russian Federation has repeatedly denied the U.S. allegations of its interference in the 2016 election, characterizing them as absurd, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Moscow did not have official contacts with the Trump's team during the presidential campaign. "It was all him", spokesman Sean Spicer said, referring to Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein.
In an interview with NBC's Lester Holt, Trump discussed his decision to fire FBI Director James Comey.
"It's highly inappropriate for the president to ask the FBI director about an ongoing investigation", said Feinstein.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a campaign of interference in the election, USA intelligence agencies concluded in January, aimed at tilting the vote in Trump's favor.
Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that Trump pressed Comey for a pledge of loyalty over dinner only a week after his inauguration, according to an account by two associates of the lawman. "If I get called to the White House, I'm going to take my attorney that works at my agency and another agent with me".
Cinco De Mayo Memes: Funny Photos, Best Jokes & Images
The 530 Crew U-Jam Fitness performs at the 2016 Latino Outreach of Tehama County Cinco De Mayo event. It's been big in the United States since Mexican Americans raised awareness for it in the 1960s .
Disputing the basis of the Russian Federation investigation, Spicer said, "There's no collusion that occurred".
Mr. Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he may select Comey's successor before leaving for his first foreign trip next week.
The U.S. Senate's No. 2 Democrat, Richard Durbin, slammed the president after Friday's tweet about Comey.
There are thought to be around a dozen candidates in line for the job. "He's risky because he may be obstructing justice in terms of the investigation. and secondly his credibility has been destroyed".
The White House also changed its narrative about whether the president had made a decision to fire Comey based on the recommendations by Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
"As a very active President with lots of things happening, it is not possible for my surrogates to stand at podium with ideal accuracy!" He added, "Maybe the best thing to do would be to cancel all future "press briefings" and hand out written responses for the sake of accuracy???"
USA media quoted an unnamed White House official as saying that 11 candidates are being considered, including acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe. Nearly all of them [the candidates] are very well known. Later, Sanders said, "We want this to come to its conclusion, we want it to come to its conclusion with integrity".
"While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the bureau".
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