Comey sought more resources for Russia probe days before he was fired by President Trump, officials say



Last week, then-FBI Director James B. Comey requested more resources from the Justice Department for his bureau’s investigation into collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, according to two officials with knowledge of the discussion.

Comey, who was fired by President Trump on Tuesday, made the request in a meeting last week with Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, and briefed the chair and Democratic ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Monday, the officials said.

When Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the chairman, and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) the ranking member, met with Comey, he told them about his request for more resources, according to a person familiar with the situation. The two committee chiefs informed other members of Senate Intelligence Committee about the meeting on Monday night, said the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

However, Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said reports that Comey had requested more funding or other resources for the Russia investigation are “totally false.” Such a request, she said, “did not happen.”

Rosenstein wrote the memo that was used to justify Trump’s swift and unexpected firing of Comey on Tuesday evening.

The news was first reported by the New York Times.

Asked by reporters Wednesday whether she was briefed by Comey on requests for additional funding for the investigation, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), a member of the Intelligence Committee, said: “I was not. But I understand that there have been additional requests. That's all I can say.”

It's unclear where the FBI investigation stands. Comey acknowledged publicly in March that the FBI was looking into possible coordination between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign, and he said the investigation had begun in late July. Comey said that for a counterintelligence probe, “that’s a fairly short period of time.”




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