President Donald Trump denied on Thursday that he colluded with Russia during the 2016 election, in his strongest denouncement yet of the topic that has hounded his presidency.
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Trump emphatically denies collusion with Russia in first interview since firing FBI director
It was Trump's strongest denouncement yet of the topic that has hounded his presidency.
Donald Trump speaks during an interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt
The interview was Trump's first since he unexpectedly fired FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday, a move whose timing has led lawmakers to question whether Trump is trying to impede the FBI's ongoing investigation into his campaign's possible ties to Russia.
In a letter sent Tuesday, Trump said he was firing Comey based on recommendations from Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. But he reversed his account on Thursday, saying that "regardless of recommendation, I was going to fire Comey."
Reports emerged on Wednesday that Rosenstein threatened to resign after the White House painted him as the architect of Comey's dismissal, although Rosenstein denied the reports on Thursday.
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"I said, 'If it's possible, will you let me know, am I under investigation?'" Trump told Holt. "He said, 'You are not under investigation.'"
Trump also defended his decision to wait so long to fire former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Trump waited 18 days to fire Flynn after being warned by then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates that the retired general was susceptible to Russian blackmail.
But in a telling moment, Trump shifted the blame to his counsel Donald McGahn.
"My White House Counsel Don McGahn came back to me and it did not sound like an emergency," Trump said. "He didn't make it sound like... it had to be done immediately."
He then contrasted Flynn and Yates: "This man has served for many years, he's a general, in my opinion a very good person. I believe that it would be very unfair to hear from somebody who we don't even know and immediately run out and fire a general."
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Watch part of the interview
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