President Trump defended his decision to fire FBI Director James Comey, saying he "wasn't doing a good job." Trump's comments on Wednesday came in response to reporters asking him at the White House why he fired Comey on Tuesday evening.
Earlier in the day, Trump had used Twitter to defend his decision and attacked the Democrats who condemned the firing, while at the same time being among Comey's harshest critics.
Trump tweeted that "the Democrats have said some of the worst things about James Comey, including the fact that he should be fired, but now they play so sad!". Trump also claimed that Comey "had lost the confidence of everyone in Washington" and predicted that people would eventually thank him for the dismissal.
Trump attacked Senate Minority leader Charles Schumer for his claims that Trump was firing the FBI chief because investigations about his Russian ties were "getting too close for the president," as Schumer put it.
Comey had come under fierce criticism by Democrats including Schumer for his handling of the Hillary Clinton e-mail probe. Trump himself welcomed the probe but also criticized Comey for delaying the investigation for so long.
White House officials denied that the firing was associated with Comey facing senate scrutiny for giving faulty testimony about emails sent from Clinton aide Huma Abedin to Anthony Weiner. claiming that the timing was 'coincidental.'
Schumer himself demanded that a special prosecutor be appointed to probe Trump's Russian ties.