Trump Planned To Fire Comey

Above, President Donald J. Trump.

President Donald J. Trump sat down for an interview with NBC News' anchor Lester Holt and said that he planned to fire former FBI Director James Comey and was told that he's not under investigation.

According to NBC News:

President Donald Trump, in an exclusive interview Thursday with NBC News' Lester Holt, called ousted FBI chief James Comey a "showboat" and revealed he asked Comey whether he was under investigation for alleged ties to Russia. 

"I actually asked him" if I were under investigation, Trump said, noting that he spoke with Comey once over dinner and twice by phone. 

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

"I know I'm not under investigation," Trump told Holt during the 31-minute White House interview. 

The president also said he supports a full investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. election last year, saying he wants the probe to be done "absolutely properly."

On Comey's firing:

The president reiterated his claim that he had been planning to fire Comey even before he received Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's recommendation to do so. 

"He's a showboat, he's grandstander, the FBI has been in turmoil," Trump said of Comey in his wide-ranging interview with Holt. "You know that, I know that. Everybody knows that. You take a look at the FBI a year ago, it was in virtual turmoil, less than a year ago. It hasn't recovered from that."

To read more and view videos of the interview, go here.