Trump Told Russian Officials That Firing 'Nut Job' Comey Took Pressure Off Investigation

Ah yes, here it is. Are you ready for today’s news dump? Here you go! On Friday afternoon, the New York Times reported that, according to a document summarizing his Oval Office meeting with Russian officials, Donald Trump referred to recently-fired FBI director James Comey as “a real nut job” and now that he’s gone, the pressure is “taken off.”

In the Oval Office meeting with Sergeys Lavrov and Kislyak, during which Trump also revealed classified information that endangered both the life of a spy placed inside ISIS territory and the US’s intelligence-sharing relationship with Israel, the Times reports that the following conversation took place:

“I just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job,” Mr. Trump said, according to the document, which was read to The New York Times by an American official. “I faced great pressure because of Russia. That’s taken off.”

Mr. Trump added, “I’m not under investigation.”

This comes after Trump himself admitted in an interview with NBC that he was thinking of “this Russia thing” when he fired Comey, directly contradicting what his advisors had told reporters the night before.

Spicer didn’t dispute the Times’ report, but did in his statement continue to emphasize wildly that the “real story” is “that our national security has been undermined by the leaking of private and highly classified conversations.” The hypocrisy should not be shocking at this point, and yet!

In addition to the Times report, a Washington Post report published around the same time this afternoon revealed that the ongoing Russia probe has labeled a senior White House official as a “significant person of interest.” This could implicate Jared Kushner, as he’s the only senior White House advisor currently known to have had contact with Russian officials.

About this item, Spicer said, “As the President has stated before, a thorough investigation will confirm that there was no collusion between the campaign and any foreign entity.”

UPDATE, 4:40 PM: A New York Magazine reporter tweeted that he’s confirmed with four people that the “significant person of interest” in question is Jared Kushner. We’ve reached out to the White House for comment, and will update if they respond.