Trump —
explaining his decision
during an NBC interview — also said that regardless of the
recommendations from the attorney general and his deputy he had already
made up his mind about firing James Comey.
“I was going to fire
Comey knowing there was no good time to do it,” Trump said. “And in
fact, when I decided to do it I said to myself, ‘You know, this Russia
thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story. It’s an excuse by the
Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won.’”
The
White House and Trump surrogates have repeatedly said the FBI’s
investigation into Russian involvement in the presidential election
played no role in the president’s decision to fire Comey, but Trump’s
own rundown of his decision contradicts that.
A little extra.
Press secretary Sean Spicer has drawn Trump’s anger, sources have told BuzzFeed News.
The White House, however, says that Spicer isn’t being replaced. “Oh my
god, for the billionth time no,” an administration official told
BuzzFeed News when asked about the swirling
reports that the president was sounding out aides about removing Spicer.
Here are all the very different reasons the White House has given for Trump firing Comey. Trump has finally signed his long-awaited executive order on cybersecurity. And the president was proud of himself for coming up with a phrase he ~definitely~ didn’t come up with.
DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS?
US-backed forces asked ISIS to hand over a Syrian city — and it worked.
The sudden collapse of ISIS’s grip on the city of Tabqa and the dam supporting it
was a result of a negotiated settlement
between the militant group and US-backed forces. Defense officials
described ISIS’s surrender as “unconditional,” saying the group agreed
to remove explosives from around the dam and leave its heavy weapons
behind as roughly 70 of its fighters left the city.
Withdrawal
talks between ISIS and the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed
coalition of Arab and Kurdish fighters, began a week ago, collapsed, and
resumed again earlier this week, leading to the end of a two-month
battle for the city and the dam.
QUICK THINGS TO KNOW
- Chechnya: Five activists were
Thursday while attempting to deliver a petition demanding Russian
authorities investigate the reported kidnapping and torture of gay men
in Chechnya. The Russian embassy to Israel said an situation in Chechnya found that “there are no victims of persecution, threats, or violence.”
- Revenge porn is now grounds for of the US Marine Corps.
- Hepatitis C is turning up in more pregnant women.
- The founder of Fyre Festival told employees that they on the disastrous event.
- Tech: Amazon Prime Video is and Amazon will soon carry Apple TV devices. Your Apple Watch could a risky heart condition.
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Unlike most of his contemporaries, newly solo One Direction star Harry
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