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By Greg Price
Staff Writer
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President Donald Trump contradicted Wednesday his previous statements about why he fired former FBI director James Comey almost a year ago, leading to the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Russia's interference in the 2016 election.
Trump took to Twitter to deny Comey was dismissed over the "phony Russia investigation."
"Slippery James Comey, the worst FBI Director in history, was not fired because of the phony Russia investigation where, by the way, there was NO COLLUSION (except by the Dems)!," Trump tweeted.
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That statement stood in stark contrast to what Trump said during an interview with NBC News soon after Comey's dismissal.
The president fired Comey on May 9 of last year, citing recommendations from Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The latter laid out in a detailed memo that Comey's handling of Hillary Clinton's private email server investigation was the reason for his abrupt exit.
Trump, however, later told NBC that he intended to fire Comey "regardless" of Rosenstein's recommendation.
"And in fact when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said, 'You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story, it's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won,'" Trump said on May 11, 2017, two days after Comey was fired.
Six days after the interview—in which many believed Trump had admitted to possibly obstructing justice—Rosenstein named former FBI director Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate Russia's meddling in the election that won Trump the White House.
Both the president's critics and proponents, like former chief political strategist Steve Bannon, have since said Comey's dismissal was one of the worst decisions Trump has made, only adding fuel to speculation or accusations of collusion with Russia.
The president has recently returned to his attacks on Comey as the former top law enforcement officer embarked on a media tour for his new book. Comey has claimed that Trump lacks the moral code he believes necessary to lead the country.
Trump, for his part, derided Comey for being a "leaker" and a "liar" while also stating it was his "great honor" to fire Comey.
"....untruthful slime ball who was, as time has proven, a terrible Director of the FBI. His handling of the Crooked Hillary Clinton case, and the events surrounding it, will go down as one of the worst "botch jobs" of history. It was my great honor to fire James Comey," the president tweeted Friday.
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