President Trump took to Twitter to shoot down a report by CNN’s Gloria Borger claiming that Roger Stone recommended the firing of now-former FBI Director James Comey.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/862290442129461249
Borger cited “a source familiar with the conversation” and reported that “Stone was among those who recommended President Trump fire Comey,” but the president claims his decision has nothing to do with Stone.
Borger also reported that Stone spoke to Trump “after Comey appeared at a hearing last week on Capitol Hill,” citing the same source.
This is newsworthy because Stone is being probed by the FBI as part of its Russia investigation, that Comey was leading until he got fired. Stone, a longtime friend to Trump, has been mixed up in political controversies since Watergate and has been tied Russia, although he denies any improper contacts with Russian officials.
Trump abruptly fired Comey on Tuesday over his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails. But Comey’s FBI had been investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election and any potential collusion of Russians with members of the Trump campaign.
A White House spokesperson reached out to CNN with a statement that echoes Trump’s tweet: “The President has not spoken to Roger Stone in many months, and any reports suggesting otherwise are categorically untrue.”
However, Stone recently mentioned speaking to Trump during an interview on SiriusXM Patriot radio.
“I think the president and I understand that any conversation we had in October was monitored and I imagine my conversations these days are monitored, so we keep it pretty general,” Stone said on Friday night.