Trump: “The people know that” that the Russia probe is “over,” but “they don’t want to hear it.”
“I don’t know how to fix it, I don’t understand it, but I do know that the people are listening and they’re watching,” Trump said on Fox News.
“And I’m not going to fix the situation until I know how I can fix it.”
Fox News is reporting that the president is set to hold a news conference in the early morning hours Thursday.
The president’s comments were in response to questions about whether he has confidence in the FBI, which has been under scrutiny for its handling of the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and whether it influenced the election in any way.
The FBI director is also facing scrutiny over his handling of last month’s firing of James Comey.
Trump said in a radio interview last week that he “probably” believes he fired Comey because the FBI director was the one who fired former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, which Trump has denied.
“I have to admit, maybe, maybe I fired Comey, maybe not, because I felt that Comey was a political hack, a political traitor,” Trump told radio host Mark Levin.
“I mean, he was a traitor.
I’m very good at this, Mark, and I know this, and if he was really a political guy, he wouldn’t have fired him.”
Trump also dismissed questions about Comey’s dismissal, telling radio host Sean Hannity on Wednesday, “There’s nothing to it.
He’s a friend of mine.
He had a good relationship with the president.”
Trump’s comments come after the president was criticized by several members of his own party for tweeting last month that he would be “uncomfortable” firing Comey, whom he described as a “nut job” during a phone call last week.
“You can say all you want about it.
You can say whatever you want.
The truth is that the President of the United States does not fire anybody in the country.
It’s not that simple.
I will tell you this, when I’m president, there is no one more respected in this country than the President, and it’s something that I am very proud of,” Trump tweeted.
Trump’s tweet came after Comey was fired by the Trump administration in May, following a special counsel’s investigation into his ties to Russia.
Trump fired Comey over a New York Times report that revealed that he had asked the FBI for more than three years to drop an investigation into former National Intelligence Director James Clapper’s use of a private email account and a secret server.
Comey said he did not make that request, and that the decision was made because of pressure from Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence.
The Trump administration has denied the report and called it “100 percent false.”