WSJ: Comey's firing came as he accelerated Russia investigation

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

In the weeks before he was abruptly fired by President Trump, former FBI Director James Comey was becoming increasingly concerned by information that showed possible evidence of collusion between Russia and members of the Trump campaign, and started asking for daily updates rather than weekly ones, several people with knowledge of the matter told The Wall Street Journal Wednesday.

Comey began spending more and more time on the investigation, giving updates to top members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and he asked Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, for more personnel to work the investigation, the WSJ reports; a Justice Department spokeswoman claims this never happened. The White House has insisted that Trump spent the past few months considering firing Comey, and the timing has nothing to do with the Russia investigation, but people with knowledge of the matter have told several news outlets that Trump had grown "increasingly agitated" with Comey for not quashing the investigation.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has also asked the Treasury Department office that investigates financial crimes for information tied to associates of Trump and people who had links to his campaign, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said. Investigators want to know more about companies that have done business with Trump or members of his family, people with information on the matter told WSJ, like his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who ran a real estate company. This is being done so investigators can better understand any business connections Trump might have with foreign companies and any ties to the Russian government.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.