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Kellyanne Conway on Comey Firing: 'It's Not a Cover-Up'

May 10, 2017

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway insisted Tuesday night that the firing of FBI Director James Comey was not a cover-up.

Conway appeared on Anderson Cooper's CNN program to defend President Trump's decision to fire Comey, which Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said smacked of a cover-up to the American people. Other Democrats and commentators said it was a "Nixonian" move that was reminiscent of Richard Nixon's "Saturday Night Massacre" during the Watergate scandal.

Due to the FBI's role in investigating alleged ties between Russia and Trump's 2016 campaign, Cooper noted that Schumer said the actions seemed like a White House cover-up.

"Well, he's wrong," Conway. "It's not a cover-up. In fact, the president makes very clear in his letter the fact that Mr. Comey, on at least three occasions, assured the president that he is not under investigation."

When Cooper pressed for details, Conway said the discussions were between Trump and Comey.

The Trump administration said that the decision to fire Comey came after recommendations from Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that Comey should be removed, pointing to decisions he made during the investigation of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.

It was just one part of a fiery interview, which at one point included Cooper rolling his eyes at one of Conway's responses.