The White House has said James Comey committed "atrocities" as FBI Director during a conference with Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Ms Huckabee Sanders said Donald Trump had considered firing director James Comey since "day one," but made his final decision after receiving written and verbal feedback from Justice Department officials.
“I think also having a letter like the one he received and having that conversation that outlined the basic, just, atrocities in circumventing the chain of command in the Department of Justice ... When he saw that, he had to speak up on that action, and I think that was the final catalyst," Ms Huckabee Sanders said.
The comments came as the deputy press secretary scrambled to answer questions about when – and why – Mr Trump made the unexpected decision to fire Mr Comey. The announcement, made early Tuesday evening, sparked concerns about the FBI's ongoing investigation into possible Trump campaign ties to Russia.
Ms Huckabee Sanders claimed on Wednesay that Mr Trump had lost confidence in Mr Comey "since the day he was elected.” Asked why White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer had said Mr Comey had the "full confidence" of the president just weeks before, Ms Huckabee Sanders allowed that several recent events had influenced the president's decision.
Most importantly, Ms Sanders said, multiple Justice Department officials expressed their doubts about Mr Comey in a meeting with the president. Mr Trump asked the officials to put their concerns – what Ms Huckabee Sanders referred to as "atrocities" – in writing. Some of these concerns were later made public, in the form of letters from Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
In his letter, Mr Rosenstein wrote that he "cannot defend the Director's handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton's emails." He faulted the director for announcing his suggestions for how Ms Clinton should be prosecuted in a public press conference – something that is generally the domain of the attorney general.
Ms Huckabee Sanders echoed these sentiments on Wednesday, saying Mr Comey "circumvented the chain of command" with his press conference.
She also denied allegations that the White House had asked Mr Sessions and Mr Rosenstein to write their letters as an excuse for Mr Comey's firing.
"He asked them for their recommendations based on the conversation that they had on Monday. He asked them to put that recommendation in writing," Ms Huckabee Sanders said, "But they came to him on their own."
- More about:
- Donald Trump
- James Comey
Reuse content
