FBI/JAMES COMEY/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. President Donald Trump sought to backtrack on comments last year in which he tied his decision to fire FBI Director James Comey to a probe into Russian election meddling, accusing NBC News on Thursday of ‘fudging’ their interview, but offering no supporting evidence. Trump made his accusation as the man who took over the federal Russia investigation from Comey, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, digs deeper into a probe that has already led to a series of indictments of former Trump aides. Trump fired Comey on May 9, 2017, a move that Comey said later was aimed at undercutting the probe. The Trump administration said at the time of Comey’s dismissal that the president had acted on the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and No. 2 Justice Department official Rod Rosenstein. In an interview with NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt that aired two days after the firing, Trump accused Comey of being incompetent and noted the recommendation, but also raised the issue of the Russia investigation, saying he was thinking of ‘this Russia thing’ when he fired him.”
–Susan Heavey, “Trump seeks to backtrack on 2017 comments on Comey firing,” Reuters, August 30, 2018 4:23 am