Reading mode Exit reading mode

James Comey Firing: Obstruction of the Russia Investigation

The Comey firing followed Trump's request to Comey for 'loyalty' and a request to drop the investigation of Michael Flynn. Comey had declined both. After the firing, Trump told NBC: 'When I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.' In a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and Ambassador Kislyak the next day, Trump reportedly said firing Comey had taken 'great pressure' off him. The Mueller report identified 10 instances of potential obstruction; regarding the Comey firing specifically, Mueller found 'substantial evidence' of corrupt intent but did not recommend charges based on DOJ policy.

Record summary

Grade

Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Systematic actions that undermine fundamental constitutional or international legal protections at the structural level. Scale and definitions

Status
Concluded
Incident date
Record updated
Location
Washington, D.C.
Category
Rule of Law
Legal posture
Reported
War-crime classification
Enabling conduct
Verification
Independently verified
ICC relevance
No
Sources
4 cited
Stable ID
trump-james-comey-firing-obstruction
Victims
Rule of law and independence of federal law enforcement; FBI investigation into Russian interference in U.S. elections; American democracy
Alleged responsible parties
  • Donald Trump, President; fired the FBI director conducting the Russia investigation; admitted to NBC that the Russia investigation was on his mind; reportedly told Russian officials the firing relieved pressure— White House

Key points

  • Comey had previously told Trump in January 2017 that Trump was not personally under investigation; Trump asked Comey for personal loyalty at a dinner, which Comey declined; Trump later asked Comey to 'let go' of the Flynn investigation, which Comey also declined; Comey documented these conversations in contemporaneous memos
  • The stated reason for the firing — a memo from Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein criticizing Comey's handling of the Clinton email investigation — was widely understood to be pretextual; Rosenstein later told associates he was 'disgusted' that his memo was used as the stated justification
  • Two days after the firing, Trump told NBC's Lester Holt: 'When I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story... and in fact when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.' The admission was explicit
  • The day after firing Comey, Trump met with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and Ambassador Kislyak in the Oval Office; according to a Washington Post report corroborated in the Mueller report, Trump told them that firing Comey had taken 'great pressure' off him: 'I just fired the head of the FBI. He was crazy, a real nut job... I faced great pressure because of Russia. That's taken off.'
  • The Mueller report's Volume II identified 10 instances of potential obstruction of justice; regarding the Comey firing, Mueller wrote: 'Substantial evidence indicates that the catalyst for the President's decision to fire Comey was Comey's unwillingness to publicly state that the President was not personally under investigation' and found evidence of corrupt intent
  • Mueller did not recommend charges, citing the DOJ's longstanding policy that a sitting president cannot be indicted; he wrote that the charging decision had been reserved for Congress through impeachment

Overview

The Comey firing was not subtle. The Director of the FBI was leading the Russia investigation. He was fired. Two days later, Trump told a national television audience that "the Russia thing" was on his mind when he decided to do it.

The day after the firing, Trump told Russian officials in the Oval Office that firing Comey had relieved "great pressure" on him.

The Stated Reason

The White House initially said Comey was fired because of a memo from Deputy AG Rosenstein criticizing his handling of the Clinton email investigation. Rosenstein later told associates he was disgusted that his memo was used this way. The timing was implausible: the Clinton email investigation had concluded 18 months earlier, and Trump had praised Comey's handling of it during the campaign.

The stated reason was a pretext. Trump acknowledged the actual reason on NBC.

The NBC Admission

"When I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story."

This was not an off-the-record comment or a leaked document. It was a statement given voluntarily to a network news anchor on national television, with cameras rolling.

The Oval Office Meeting

The day after firing the FBI director investigating Russian election interference, Trump hosted Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and Ambassador Kislyak in the Oval Office. U.S. press was not present; Russian state media photographed the meeting. According to reporting later corroborated in the Mueller report, Trump told them: "I just fired the head of the FBI. He was crazy, a real nut job... I faced great pressure because of Russia. That's taken off."

Mueller's Assessment

The Mueller report identified 10 instances of potential obstruction of justice. For the Comey firing, Mueller found "substantial evidence" of corrupt intent but declined to recommend charges, citing DOJ policy. He wrote that the charging decision had been reserved for Congress.

Congress impeached Trump twice. He was acquitted both times.

Update log

  1. Updated with Mueller report findings.

Sequence of events

  1. Trump demands loyalty from Comey at dinner

    At a private White House dinner, Trump asks Comey for a pledge of loyalty. Comey offers 'honesty.' Trump presses for 'loyal honesty.' Comey documents the conversation in a contemporaneous memo.

  2. Trump asks Comey to 'let go' of Flynn investigation

    Trump asks Comey to end the FBI investigation of Michael Flynn. Comey declines. He documents the request in a memo dated the same day.

  3. Trump fires Comey — stated reason: Clinton emails

    Trump fires Comey via a letter citing Rosenstein's memo criticizing the Clinton email investigation. Rosenstein later says he was 'disgusted' the memo was used as the justification.

  4. Trump tells Russian officials firing Comey relieved pressure

    Trump meets with Lavrov and Kislyak in the Oval Office. He tells them firing Comey took 'great pressure' off him regarding Russia. Russian state media photographs the meeting; U.S. press is not present.

  5. Trump tells NBC: 'Russia thing' was on his mind

    In an interview with NBC's Lester Holt, Trump explicitly states that 'this Russia thing with Trump and Russia' was on his mind when he decided to fire Comey.

  6. Mueller report documents obstruction evidence

    The Mueller report's Volume II documents 10 instances of potential obstruction of justice, including the Comey firing, finding 'substantial evidence' of corrupt intent but declining to recommend charges under DOJ policy.

Sources

  1. Trump Fires Comey, Citing Handling of Clinton Email Inquiry — The New York Times
  2. Trump asked Comey to end Flynn investigation, according to Comey memo — The Washington Post
  3. Trump fires FBI director Comey — The Associated Press
  4. Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election — Volume II — Special Counsel's Office / Department of Justice archived ✓

How this record was published

Manually curated This entry was added directly and does not carry an automated audit trail.

About our editorial methodology →

Related records

Similar by category, grade and tags.

  • Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

    Michael Flynn: National Security Adviser Lied to FBI, Trump Pressured Comey, Flynn Pardoned

    Flynn's conversations with Kislyak on December 29, 2016 — the day President Obama announced sanctions against Russia for election interference — were intercepted by U.S. intelligence. Flynn told Pence the conversations had not touched on sanctions; Pence publicly repeated that claim. After the Washington Post reported Flynn had indeed discussed sanctions, Flynn resigned. On January 27, 2017, Trump told Comey at a one-on-one dinner that he hoped Comey could let the Flynn investigation go. Comey did not drop it. Trump fired Comey on May 9, 2017. Flynn pleaded guilty December 1, 2017. His cooperation with Mueller provided significant intelligence about the transition period. Trump pardoned Flynn in November 2020, after Flynn had withdrawn his guilty plea.

  • Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

    Firing James Comey: Obstruction of Justice and Attack on FBI Independence

    Trump fired FBI Director Comey while Comey's bureau was investigating Trump campaign ties to Russia. Trump's own statements to Lester Holt and to Russian officials — that the firing relieved 'great pressure' from the Russia investigation — directly contradicted the White House's stated justifications. Mueller's report identified ten episodes of potential obstruction and declined to exonerate Trump; it explicitly left open the question of indictment.

  • Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power

    Barr's Mueller Report Summary: Misrepresented Findings, Withheld Report for Weeks

    Mueller's investigation documented ten episodes of potential obstruction of justice and concluded that while it could not exonerate Trump, it also could not reach a traditional prosecutorial judgment because of the OLC opinion barring indictment of a sitting president. Barr's summary letter stated 'the Special Counsel did not find that the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia' and that Mueller had 'not established that members of the Trump campaign conspired.' On obstruction, Barr stated on his own authority that the evidence was 'not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense' — an independent judgment Mueller had explicitly declined to make.

  • Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power

    Sessions Recusal, AG Firing, and the Mueller Obstruction Pattern

    Sessions's recusal created the conditions for the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, since it meant Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein oversaw the Russia investigation. Trump spent 20 months publicly attacking Sessions for his recusal — including in tweets, press statements, and reporting — while his private conduct (documented by Mueller) included repeated instructions that Sessions should 'unrecuse' himself and take control of the investigation. The day after the 2018 midterm elections, Trump demanded and received Sessions's resignation, replacing him with Matthew Whitaker — a move DOJ legal scholars argued was designed to install an acting AG who would not be recused from the Russia investigation.