"We anticipated asking Director Comey a series of questions about his actions and the actions of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; looking into which Trump associates, if any, and some of their actions during the campaign, relates to the Russians".
The White House on Thursday denied any such reaction by Rosenstein, telling reporters the veteran prosecutor came up with the memo on his own and not necessarily at Trump's direction. He said there has been no interference so far.
In his interview with NBC, Mr. Trump said he didn't ask Mr. Comey to drop the investigation.
"Did the president tell Comey he could keep his job if he ended the investigation?"
Comey's associates dismissed the president's claim as "literally farcical", but McCabe declined to comment on any possible conversations between his former boss and the president.
While Democrats allege Trump fired Comey because of his discomfort with the probe of Russian interference in the 2016 campaign and potential ties to Trump associates, the stated reason for the ouster was Comey's handling of the Clinton email probe past year. "He said, 'You are not under investigation'".
Trump made his displeasure with Comey clear even before the director testified, saying in two tweets the night before the hearing that Comey "was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds". But the revelation intensified the pressure on the White House from both political parties to explain the motives behind Comey's stunning ouster.
The White House yesterday slapped down calls for a special prosecutor to investigate allegations that Mr Trump's campaign colluded with Russian Federation. Republican leaders brushed off the idea as unnecessary.
Trump warns Comey: Better hope there are no 'tapes' of talks
Like many Americans, I have serious concerns and unanswered questions about the timing of Director Comey's dismissal. But early Friday afternoon, MSNBC had Clapper on to explain, once and for all, why Trump's tweet is dishonest.
FBI officials have questioned Trump's claims, and the agency' acting director, Andrew McCabe, on Thursday said such assurances about the scope of an ongoing counterintelligence investigation would not be "standard practice". Democrats have called for a special prosecutor to look into the Russian Federation matter.
He also said Mr Comey had "broad support" within the agency, which contradicted White House officials.
At first, the administration said that Rosenstein "made the recommendation, the president made a swift and decisive action and let Comey go". "It was a quick-moving process", she said.
The president tweeted, "Again, the story that there was collusion between the Russians & Trump campaign was fabricated by Dems as an excuse for losing the election".
Mr McCabe also vowed not to update the White House on the status of the investigation and to notify the Senate panel of any attempt to interfere with the inquiry.
The president's advisers said this week that Trump fired Comey on Tuesday in response to a recommendation by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
Ms Fisher formerly served as assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Criminal Division. When asked by Sen.
Amid the flood of reports about what prompted Trump to fire Comey, the administration acknowledged Wednesday that Comey's testimony was part of Trump's decision.
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