Comey says he'll take Trump 'at his word' that he was fired 'because of the Russia investigation'

FBI Director James Comey says he doesn't "know for sure" but he suspects the Russia investigation motivated President Trump's decision to fire him. While testifying Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee about his conversations with Trump regarding the FBI's Trump-Russia probe, Comey noted that he'd heard Trump say in interviews and that he'd read in press accounts that Trump felt "something about the way" he was conducting the Russia probe "created pressure on him that he wanted to relieve."

"I take the president at his word that I was fired because of the Russia investigation," Comey said.

Comey emphasized that he didn't know this "at the time" of his firing, and that he could be "wrong." "Maybe he's saying something that's not true," Comey said, referring to Trump's accounts in interviews. "But I take him at his word, at least based on what I know now."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Watch it below. Becca Stanek