Trump Says Did Not Fire James Comey Due to 'Phony Russia Investigation'

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump said in a statement on Wednesday that he did not fire former FBI Director James Comey because of the investigation into Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 election and purported collusion with the Trump campaign.

"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 said in a Twitter message.

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)!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 18 апреля 2018 г.

​The White House initially said Trump fired Comey on May 9 upon the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein over Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton private email server investigation.

But in an interview with NBC News on May 11, Trump said that when he decided to fire Comey, he was thinking of the Russia investigation and said he always planned to fire Comey "regardless" of any recommendation.

READ MORE: Ex-FBI Chief Comey Says It's Not up to Trump to Put Him in Jail

Both Trump and the Kremlin have denied all allegations of collusion, and Moscow has rejected accusations that it interfered in the election as "absurd."