May 11, 2017 11:31 AM UTC

Donald Trump Fired Jim Comey Because of Russia

• 7 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

If you’re still buying what the White House is selling on the rationale behind the firing of FBI Director Jim Comey…well, it’s time to put your wallet away.

From CNN:

The White House just can’t get its story straight about why President Trump decided to fire FBI Director James Comey…

…The firing of an FBI director is always going to be a big deal that merits explanation. That the White House has offered so many — and they all appear to be either contradictory, half true or misinformed — makes this an even bigger deal.

Why? Because, as of right now, it appears that the president of the United States fired the director of the FBI because he was angry at him for not doing exactly what Trump wanted him to do. And that should be very concerning. To everyone.

Or The New York Times:

Yet even in his letter to Mr. Comey, the president mentioned the Russia inquiry, writing that “I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation.” And that reflected, White House aides said, what they conceded had been his obsession over the investigation Mr. Trump believes is threatening his larger agenda.

Not enough? Let’s try the Washington Post:

The known actions that led to Comey’s dismissal raise as many questions as answers. Why was Sessions involved in discussions about the fate of the man leading the FBI’s Russia investigation, after having recused himself from the probe because he had falsely denied under oath his own past communications with the Russian ambassador?

Why had Trump discussed the Russia probe with the FBI director three times, as he claimed in his letter dismissing Comey, which could have been a violation of Justice Department policies that ongoing investigations generally are not to be discussed with White House officials?

And how much was the timing of Trump’s decision shaped by events spiraling out of his control — such as Monday’s testimony about Russian interference by former acting attorney general Sally Yates, or the fact that Comey last week requested more resources from the Justice Department to expand the FBI’s Russia probe?

We’ll wrap things up with this Thursday update from Politico:

President Donald Trump on Thursday described former FBI Director James Comey as a “showboat” and said he intended to fire him “regardless” of what Justice Department officials suggested.

“I was going to fire regardless of recommendation,” Trump told NBC News’ Lester Holt in an interview scheduled to air later on Thursday, two days after Comey’s abrupt firing…

…The White House had previously claimed that Trump fired Comey following the recommendation of the Justice Department. But multiple news outlets, including POLITICO, have reported that Trump was upset with Comey over the ongoing investigation into the Trump campaign’s relationship with Russia and was looking for a reason to fire him.

It is what it is, friends.