Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Sunday said that President Donald Trump discussed his abrupt termination of former FBI Director James Comey with Russian officials to prove he was not “distracted” from working to improve the U.S.-Russia relationship.
“I think what the President was trying to convey to the Russians is, ‘Look, I’m not going to be distracted by all these issues that are here at home, that affect us domestically, I’m not going to let that distract from our efforts to see if we can engage with you, engage with Russia,’” Tillerson said on “Fox News Sunday.”
He said that Trump “reemphasized the message to the Russians that the relationship is at a low point.”
The New York Times reported on Friday that Trump expressed relief about Comey’s termination to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak.
Trump called Comey “crazy, a real nut job,” according to the Times, and said he “faced great pressure because of Russia.”
“That’s taken off,” he said, according to the report. “I’m not under investigation.”
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer did not deny the accuracy of those quotes, but said Comey “created unnecessary pressure” on U.S.-Russia relations by “grandstanding and politicizing the investigation” into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
