Trump to Russians: Firing "nut job" Comey eased "great pressure" regarding Russia probe

Impact
By Emily C. Singer

President Donald Trump, in his meeting with Russian officials in the Oval Office last week, said his firing of now-former FBI Director James Comey had "taken off" the "great pressure because of Russia," the New York Times reported Friday.

"I just fired the head of the FBI," Trump said, according to notes of the meeting provided to the New York Times by an American official. "He was crazy, a real nut job. I faced great pressure because of Russia. That's taken off."

White House press secretary Sean Spicer did not dispute the notes to the Times.

Uncredited/AP

Trump's meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak came a day after he fired Comey — a dismissal that set off a firestorm of scandal for Trump and his administration.

Because of Comey's dismissal, the Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed a special counsel to investigate the Trump campaign's alleged Russian ties.