Acting FBI Director Contradicts Trump On Comey, Says Comey Still Has “Broad Support” From FBI Staffers

The New York Times reports:

The unfolding story over Mr. Trump’s abrupt firing of Mr. Comey hung over the hearing, infusing political theater into annual testimony by the nation’s top security officials about the biggest threats facing the United States.

Mr. McCabe rejected the White House’s assertion that Mr. Comey had lost the backing of rank-and-file F.B.I. agents, a pointed rebuke of what had been one of the president’s main defenses for the move.

“Director Comey enjoyed broad support within the F.B.I. and still does to this day,” Mr. McCabe said at the hearing. “The vast majority of F.B.I. employees enjoyed a deep and positive connection to Director Comey,” he added.

More from the BBC:



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. There are reports the ex-FBI boss had asked for more resources to conduct the probe and Democrats in the US Senate have formally requested details from the Justice Department on any additional funding he requested.

Some Democratic senators say they believed the reports to be true, although a Justice Department spokeswoman rejected them as “totally false”. Democrats have also called for a special prosecutor to take over the Russia investigation.