White House Says Changes Story On Firing Of Comey, Then Denies Inconsistencies

WASHINGTON, DC — Principal Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders continued Thursday to defend the White House's narrative around the firing of FBI Director James Comey, backtracking on some of her own previous statements while denying any inconsistencies. Her account differs sharply from that of her boss, President Trump. (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch for daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Just ahead of Thursday's daily briefing, NBC released an interview with the president and Lester Holt in which the president reversed the White House's original timeline of the Comey termination. Trump said he had made up his mind long before Rosenstein offered a critique of Comey. Comey, the president told Holt, was a "showboater."

Earlier in the day, Sanders said Trump had reached out to the deputy attorney general for "feedback" on the topic of firing Comey, softening her previous statement that he acted on his "recommendation." She had said that Trump had not already made up his mind when he reached out to Rosenstein, which is at odds with the president's statements.

Asked about these contradictions Thursday, Sanders said though she had conversations with Trump about the termination, she had not asked specifically about when Trump had made the decision. She then said her account of Comey's firing has been consistent.

She would not answer questions about Vice President Mike Pence's comments on the firing, accusing the reporters in the briefing room of quibbling over process. Pence said directly that Trump made his decision based on Rosenstein's recommendation.

Sanders would not comment further on Trump's claims that Comey assured him he was not personally under investigation by the FBI. When asked whether such a conversation would be a conflict of interest, Sanders decisively said no. She said many "legal experts" and "scholars" the administration conferred with agreed there was no conflict of interest.

Other legal experts disagree. NBC spoke with various former prosecutors and government ethics experts, and they said the president should not discuss a pending investigation with the FBI director.

To rebut charges of "being in the dark," Sanders read a list of quotes of Democrats who had criticized Comey. She essentially accused them of being hypocrites for now being upset about Trump's decision. Democrats argue, though, that Trump's timing, and the fact that he was under investigation by the FBI director, make the situation much more suspect than it would be otherwise.

Asked whether the president takes the investigation into Russian interference and its national security implications seriously, Sanders said Trump was committed to clean elections.

"Of course he takes national security seriously," she said. Trump had openly called for Russians to hack into Hillary Clinton's emails during the campaign.

During Senate testimony Thursday, Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe also directly contradicted two of the claims Sanders made yesterday: that the FBI rank and file had largely turned against Comey, and that the investigation into the Trump-Russia connections was "one of the smallest things" going on at the CIA.

McCabe said the bureau considers the probe a "highly significant investigation." He also added: "Director Comey enjoyed broad support within the FBI, and still does today."

Sanders said she talked to a "large number" of FBI agents who were happy to see Comey go. Though she also added, "I don't even know that many people in the FBI."

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Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images News/Getty Images