Mr. Trump recalled that a little more than two weeks before his inauguration, Mr. Comey and other intelligence officials briefed him at Trump Tower on Russian meddling. Mr. Comey testified before Congress that Mr. Trump kicked the vice president, attorney general and several other senior administration officials out of the room before having the discussion with Mr. Comey. He noted that he actually interviewed Mr. Mueller to replace Mr. Comey just before his appointment as special counsel. “He was up here and he wanted the job,” Mr. Trump said. In his first description of his dinnertime conversation with Mr. Putin at the Group of 20 summit meeting in Hamburg, Germany, Mr. Trump played down its significance.

Source: New York Times July 19, 2017 23:29 UTC