Democrats accuse Trump of undermining Russia probe
Donald Trump’s sudden firing of Comey shocked Washington and plunged the US president deeper into a controversy over his campaign’s alleged ties with Russia
Washington — The anger behind Donald Trump’s firing of FBI director James Comey on Tuesday had been building for months, but a turning point came when Comey refused to preview for Trump and his top aides his planned testimony to a Senate panel, White House officials said. Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had wanted a heads-up from Comey about what he would say at a May 3 hearing about his handling of an investigation into former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server. When Comey refused, Trump and his aides considered that an act of insubordination and it was one of the catalysts to Trump’s decision this week to fire the FBI director, the officials said. "It gave the impression that he was no longer capable of carrying out his duties," one official said. Previews of congressional testimony to superiors are generally considered courteous. Comey, who testified for four hours before the Senate J...
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