Associates of James Comey are highly skeptical that the former FBI director told Donald Trump he was not under investigation in the Russia probe as the president claimed in a letter firing Comey.
While it is conceivable there was a misunderstanding on Trump’s part, the sources said Comey would never have cleared Trump with the investigation still underway.
“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,” wrote Trump Tuesday in a letter informing Comey of his termination.
Comey, a former United States attorney and deputy attorney general, is known to speak in a deliberate manner. It would have been highly inappropriate to discuss an active investigation and sources close to Comey said he knows better than anyone that one never knows how a probe will end until it’s over.
When acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe was asked by the Senate Intelligence Community Thursday about Trump’s characterization, McCabe declined to say whether the president was given assurances.
“I will not comment on whether the director and president had that kind of a conversation,” McCabe said.
Asked if it “would have been wrong” for Comey to inform a person that he was not under investigation, McCabe said, “We do not typically answer that question.”
McCabe also pushed back on White House assertions that the agency’s rank and file lost confidence in Comey. “I can tell you also that Director Comey enjoyed broad support within the FBI and still does to this day,” McCabe said.
McCabe told senators that the firing of Comey has not affected his agency’s investigation into whether Donald Trump’s associates colluded with Russian officials to influence last year’s presidential election, and McCabe promised to speak up if there is any effort by the White House to impede the wide-ranging probe.
“The work of the men and women of the FBI continues despite any changes in circumstance,” he said, calling the Russia probe “a highly significant investigation,” despite White House claims to the contrary.
