The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s acting director has contradicted Donald Trump over the firing of James Comey, denying the ousted chief had lost the support of employees as he insisted the FBI’s Russia probe would not be knocked off course.
Andrew McCabe, the FBI acting director, also told the Senate intelligence committee that the probe into alleged collusion between Moscow and the Trump election campaign was “highly significant” as a senior Democrat accused Mr Trump of trying to obstruct investigators.
Mr Trump doubled down on his claim that he had fired Mr Comey because of his performance, telling NBC: “He’s a showboat. He’s a grandstander. The FBI has been in turmoil . . . Everybody knows that.”