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There was a hint from day one that Comey's firing had something to do with the Russia investigation. In his letter to Comey on Tuesday, Trump wrote \"While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau.\"

During the NBC News interview, the president was asked about these interactions, and Trump said again that he had directly asked if he was under investigation.

Trump responded, \"I said, 'If it's possible would you let me know am I under investigation?' He said, 'You are not under investigation.\"

The first explanation from the White House for Comey’s firing was that Trump made the decision after Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein wrote letters to him recommending Comey’s removal. The letters cited Comey’s bungling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of private email servers.

“I cannot defend the Director's handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton's emails, and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken,” Rosenstein wrote.

In a visit to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence dismissed questions about the Russia probe, saying “that is not what this is about.”

Administration spokespeople Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Sean Spicer and Kellyanne Conway echoed similar sentiments earlier this week, stressing that Trump was taking Rosenstein’s advice in firing Comey.

“The American people expect a president to act on the recommendations of those within the administration who are charged with oversight. In this case, the deputy attorney general provides the oversight to the federal bureau of investigation,” Pence said yesterday. “When [Rosenstein] brought the recommendation to the president, that the director of the FBI should be removed, President Trump provided the kind of strong and decisive leadership the American people have come to be accustomed from him, and he took the action necessary to remove director Comey.”

But Trump made clear in today's interview that the recommendation had nothing to do with it.

“I was going to fire Comey,” Trump said. “Oh, I was going to fire regardless of recommendation.”

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