A White House spokeswoman said Thursday that former FBI Director James Comey directly relayed information about the Russia investigation to President Donald Trump.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked on ABC’s “Good Morning America” about Trump’s claim in a letter to Comey notifying him of his termination that the then-FBI director assured him “on three separate occasions” that he was not under investigation.
“Are you sure that what the President wrote is true?” asked host George Stephanopoulos.
“I have heard that directly from him that information was relayed directly to him from Director Comey,” said Sanders, who declined to provide further details.
The White House has so far declined to produce evidence of the three separate occasions the President referenced.
Sanders also told CBS News’ “This Morning” that Trump is “very likely” to visit FBI headquarters soon.
“I believe that is very likely that that takes place sometime in the next few days,” Sanders said when asked about a potential visit.
Comey’s firing Tuesday night sent shockwaves through the FBI, where the dismissal of the bureau director immediately impacted the thousands of agents nationwide. Comey learned of his dismissal from television reports while addressing agents in Los Angeles.
Some in the agency resented the political spotlight Comey had brought on the bureau with his public statements at the center of the Russia and Hillary Clinton email investigation firestorms.
But many felt loyalty to Comey and appreciated his independence to both sides of the political aisle, especially with critical comments Trump made about the intelligence community during the campaign and early in his presidency, as well as the former director’s efforts to streamline administrative processes.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed an interview Sanders gave to ABC.