FBI head denies key sacking claims by Trump
ACTING FBI director Andrew McCabe has denied that fired director James Comey had lost the support of rank-and-file members of the bureau.
The White House used the claim to justify Mr Comey’s firing, but Mr McCabe said the claim is not accurate.
He said Mr Comey “enjoyed broad support” within the agency and that he holds Mr Comey in the “absolute highest regard”, adding that it was the “greatest privilege” of his career to serve under him.
Mr McCabe also assured senators that he will alert them to any effort to interfere with the investigation into Russia’s election meddling and possible ties with Donald Trump’s campaign.
Mr Trump’s firing of Mr Comey on Tuesday after he asked for funding to pursue the investigation has led Democrats and others to raise concerns about the future of the investigation.
But Mr McCabe said there has been “no effort to impede our investigation”.
“You cannot stop the men and women of the FBI from doing the right thing,” he declared.
He also said he would not inform the White House about developments in the probe.
Mr McCabe responded to questions from the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, Mark Warner of Virginia, who said he thought Mr Comey’s dismissal was directly related to the Russia investigation.
Mr McCabe later said it is a “highly significant investigation”, contradicting statements made by the White House downplaying it.
Days before he was fired, Mr Comey requested more resources to pursue his investigation, US officials have said, fuelling concerns that Mr Trump was trying to undermine a probe that could threaten his presidency.
It was unclear whether word of the Comey request, put to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, ever made its way to Mr Trump.
However, the revelation intensified the pressure on the White House from both political parties to explain the motives behind Mr Comey’s sacking.
Mr Trump is the first president since Richard Nixon to fire a law enforcement official overseeing an investigation with ties to the White House.
Democrats quickly accused Mr Trump of using Mr Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation as a pretext and called for a special prosecutor into the Russia probe.
Last night President Trump saidhe had planned to fire Mr Comey regardless of the recommendation from his deputy attorney general, contrary to earlier statements from the White House.
Mr Trump told NBC News he had made up his mind to dismiss Mr Comey before he met on Monday with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and deputy Rod Rosenstein.
White House officials had said earlier in the week that Mr Trump asked Mr Sessions and Mr Rosenstein for their opinions about Mr Comey, and the president then acted on those recommendations.