Trump 'considered firing Comey since taking office'

President Donald Trump had been considering firing former FBI Director James Comey since he was elected, a White House spokeswoman says.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that there was an "erosion of confidence" in Mr Comey over the last year after several missteps. The administration says Mr Comey

was removed on Tuesday for his handling of the Hillary Clinton emails inquiry. But Democrats say it is because he was probing alleged Russia-Trump links. On Wednesday the White House also rejected calls to appoint a special prosecutor to the FBI investigation into Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 election.

"We don't think it's necessary," said Ms Huckabee Sanders. "No one wants this to be finished and completed more than us." Her comments came as the US Senate Intelligence Committee invited Mr Comey to testify on Tuesday. Washington is still shaking from the aftershocks of Mr Comey's unexpected dismissal. If Donald Trump is trying to avoid comparisons with Richard Nixon's scandal-plagued presidency, welcoming Henry Kissinger - the man probably most closely connected with the former president - in the Oval Office probably isn't the best move.

The whole group meeting with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak was a bit strange, starting with the fact that it happened at all. Given the allegations that Mr Trump fired James Comey because of the FBI investigation into Russia ties to the Trump campaign, meeting with a Russian ambassador the very next day isn't exactly good optics, as they say. Neither is keeping US media out of the room and having Russian state photographers provide the only public images of the event - images that are sure to be featured in Democratic campaign adverts in the not-too-distant future.

During the campaign, Mr Trump famously joked that he could shoot somebody, and his supporters would stick by him. Smiling with the Russian ambassador in the midst of a growing Russian hacking controversy is the diplomatic equivalent - a brazen move sans firearms. Many in Washington will howl, but there's no guarantee it will move the needle among the president's legions.