Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump, appeared on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 on Tuesday evening to discuss the firing of FBI director James Comey.
In a back-and-forth that got prickly at times, Conway defended Trump’s decision while Cooper was persistent in questioning the allegations of collusion between the president and Russia and an ongoing FBI investigation.
Conway insisted that the termination of Comey had nothing to do with investigations into Trump’s ties to Russia, now or during the 2016 election. “You’re looking at the wrong set of facts here,” Conway told Cooper. “You’re going back to the campaign. This man is the president of the United States. He acted decisively today.”
“That makes no sense,” Cooper interjected. “He said one thing as a candidate and now he’s concerned as president?”
“It makes complete sense because he has lost confidence in the FBI director,” Conway answered.
Kellyanne Conway says President Trump lost confidence in James Comey and he took the recommendation from deputy AG https://t.co/9VnXNPzxQj
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) May 10, 2017
When asked to address Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer’s comments calling the termination of Comey a “cover up,” Conway responded, “He’s wrong.”
Conway went on to cite Trump’s letter of termination to Comey, in which the president stated that Comey had said on “at least three occasions” that “he was not under investigation” by the FBI, as Conway explained.
Kellyanne Conway on Sen. Schumer calling the firing of FBI Director James Comey a ‘cover up’: “He’s wrong” https://t.co/WSOZ3MimVl
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) May 10, 2017
Cooper continued to press Conway on the issue that there was an investigation into the Trump White House, to which Conway responded, “The president is not under investigation. I’m around the president, I’m not under investigation.”
The news of the firing came as a shock to Comey himself, as he reportedly learned of his termination while addressing a group of his FBI employees in Los Angeles when the news flashed on the television screens behind him, according to The New York Times.
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Conway returned to CNN Wednesday morning, where she continued to defend the decision in another back-and-forth appearance with Chris Cuomo.
The CNN anchor accused Conway of furthering Trump’s hoax agenda, while Conway claimed Cuomo was attempting to go viral with his word choice.
“Kellyanne, I’ve got to check what you’re saying,” he said. “I’ve got to provide the context for it, because you’re creating an image that doesn’t reveal itself in fact.”
Cuomo pressed Conway on the timing of Trump’s decision and why it took several weeks to oust Flynn and a mere two to fire Comey, “just as the Russian investigation is heating up.”
.@ChrisCuomo to Kellyanne Conway: “You’re creating an image that does not reveal itself in fact.” https://t.co/8LzwLSoS1s
— CNN (@CNN) May 10, 2017
Conway: “The idea that the FBI has one thing going on and it’s the Russia investigation… is really irresponsible” https://t.co/JvzFb2dpvm
— CNN (@CNN) May 10, 2017
Conway: “You want to question the timing of when [Trump] fires, when he hires… He’ll do it when he wants to.” https://t.co/5SliOOTse8
— CNN (@CNN) May 10, 2017
May 10, 8:25 a.m.: Updated with Wendnesday appearance
