From the New York Times, a headline that President Trump would presumably prefer not to read: “Days Before Firing, Comey Asked for More Resources for Russia Inquiry.” Here are the details:
Days before he was fired, James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, asked the Justice Department for a significant increase in resources for the bureau’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the presidential election, according to three congressional officials who were briefed on his request.
Mr. Comey asked for the resources last week from Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, who also wrote the Justice Department’s memo that was used to justify the firing of Mr. Comey this week, the officials said.
Mr. Comey then briefed members of Congress on the meeting in recent days, telling them about his meeting with Mr. Rosenstein, who is the most senior law enforcement official supervising the Russia investigation. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself because of his close ties to the Trump campaign and his undisclosed meetings with the Russian ambassador.
The DOJ flatly denies this. Per CNN;
Justice Department spokesperson Sarah Flores denies Comey asked Rosenstein for more resources. She called reporting to the contrary “100% false,” and told reporters she spoke directly with Rosenstein about the reports.
What does “resources” mean? Everything, according to NBC’s Katy Tur, who quotes Flores denying that “Comey asked for more money or more resources.”
Evidently, there is no wiggle room in that statement. Naturally, I have no idea whether Flores or the Times is correct. But if it’s the Times, there’s no way that the DOJ can slip out of its denial. And it can’t, well, then things will get interesting.