CHANGING THE NARRATIVE

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump contradicted his three top spokespeople about the firing of FBI director James Comey. They had spent 45 hours emphasizing that this was a decision Trump arrived at after receiving a memo and recommendation from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. But Trump told NBC News host Lester Holt he planned to fire him all along.

WHAT TRUMP SAID

HOLT: Did you ask for a recommendation?

TRUMP: What I did is, I was going to fire Comey. My decision. It was not ...

HOLT: You had made the decision before they came in the room.

TRUMP: I was going to fire Comey. There’s no good time to do it, by the way.

HOLT: Because in your letter, you said, ‘I accepted their recommendation.’ So you had already made the decision.

TRUMP: Oh, I was going to fire regardless of recommendation.

WHAT SEAN SPICER SAID

A story by The Washington Post’s Jenna Johnson reporting a press conference Tuesday night by Spicer, the White House press secretary, said “As Spicer tells it, Rosenstein was confirmed about two weeks ago and independently took on this issue so the president was not aware of the probe until he received a memo from Rosenstein on Tuesday . ... The president then swiftly decided to follow the recommendation.” She quoted Spicer saying of Rosenstein, “It was all him.”

WHAT SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS SAID

Deputy press secretary Huckabee Sanders on Wednesday morning in an interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe said, “Look, I think when you receive a report that is so clear and a recommendation by someone like the deputy attorney general, you have no choice but to act.”

WHAT KELLYANNE CONWAY SAID

White House adviser Conway told CCN Tuesday, “(Trump) took the recommendation of his deputy attorney general, who oversees the FBI director.” And later, “He is taking the recommendation of his deputy attorney general and the attorney general ... that it is time for fresh leadership and to restore integrity at the FBI.”