Reports emerging in the media have confirmed that Trump’s decision to fire FBI director, James Comey, eased “great pressure” on the US President. Trump told Russia that the “Nut Job” Comey had to go. According to documents surfacing online detailing the interaction between Trump and Russian officials in the oval office, the POTUS was quoted saying that he had to fire the FBI director calling him crazy and a real nut job. The document that was read to the New York Times by a senior official saying that Trump felt a lot of pressure because of the Russian link and now this pressure is gone.
Trump also reiterated that he was not under any investigation. The conversation that was recorded on May 10 will surely add fuel to the ongoing debate on the grounds for Comey’s dismissal. The President has long held the view that the former FBI director was relieved of his duties after a recommendation from the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General. However, based on this recent exposé, it appears that indeed Comey was fired due to his ongoing investigation on the possible collusion between members of the Trump campaign and Russia.
White House Press Secretary, Sean Spicer, did not deny the account of events highlighted in the mainstream media. Spicer said that former FBI Director, James Comey, had acted politically in his investigation and that this put a lot of pressure on the President and his ability to conduct any sort of diplomacy with the Russians. Spicer went ahead to accuse Comey of grandstanding and politicizing the investigation. The White House Press Secretary added that the termination of Comey was not supposed to end the investigation. In fact, the investigation will continue.
However, the White House felt that because of the political nature of Comey’s inquiry, it was becoming difficult for the President to execute his duties with the Russians. The dismissal of Comey was interpreted by many Democrats and some Republicans as obstructing the natural course of justice. It served to fuel ongoing speculation about the collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia. However, the President has maintained that the Russian interference did not affect the outcome of the election. In addition to this, Trump is on record vehemently denying any possible collusion and also went on to term the investigation as a waste of time and money.
However, despite all these denials, preliminary investigations have already revealed that there is some evidence of collusion and some members of the Trump campaign have been identified as persons of interest in the case. It will be interesting to see how the Democratic Party will react to this latest news. There is no doubt the Russian connection will not go away and the appointment of a special prosecutor to take over from where Comey left is surely an indicator that there is something worth pursuing in this entire saga. Until everything is cleared though, it seems Trump agenda on Russia will have to take a back seat moving forward.