Furor over Comey firing grows with news that he sought resources for Russia investigation before his dismissal

The furor over President Trump’s abrupt firing of FBI Director James B. Comey grew Wednesday with the revelation that Comey had sought more resources for an investigation into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian government shortly before he was dismissed.

Republicans and Democrats alike expressed dismay Wednesday over Comey’s firing the day before, which several said will frustrate bipartisan efforts to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election and any possible ties between the Kremlin and Trump associates. Many Democrats called for a special prosecutor to take on the investigation, and a handful of Republicans said they were open to the idea.

For some, the news of the request provided further evidence that Trump’s stated reason for firing Comey — that the director had botched the bureau’s investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private email server — was untrue. The likelier and more troubling reason, critics said, was to quash the Russia investigation and the threat it poses to the Trump White House.

“This really smacks of impropriety,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who said he believes the president is “using Hillary and the server as an excuse to say, ‘We’re getting rid of this guy because he’s getting too close to us.’ ”

Although several Democrats confirmed that Comey had informed lawmakers of the request he made last week in a meeting with Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, the Justice Department denied those reports.

Several influential Republicans, including Sens. John McCain (Ariz.) and Bob Corker (Tenn.), declined to say whether they accepted the reasons given for Comey’s firing, which were laid out in a memo written by Rosenstein.

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) dismissed concerns and rapped Democrats for complaining about the ouster of an FBI director they had “repeatedly and sharply criticized.” McConnell also made clear his plans for the coming days: to keep the chamber’s focus on the GOP’s policy agenda, including passage of a health-care overhaul and tax reform.

Others were more pessimistic that the emergence of yet another Trump-related controversy would slow the Senate’s work. Comey’s firing is expected to consume Capitol Hill’s attention until the weekend and potentially through Tuesday, when the former FBI director has been invited to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The panel’s chairman, who met with Comey on Monday, said the director’s dismissal makes the committee’s work harder.

“It creates challenges for the committee,” Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) told reporters. “An interruption in any of the access we have to the documents or the personnel would be harmful to our investigation.”

The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), sent a letter Wednesday to Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz asking him to look into the Comey firing.

Also Wednesday, the Senate Intelligence Committee issued a subpoena for documents related to former national security adviser Michael Flynn and his ties to Russia. In an announcement, Burr and the ranking Democratic member, Sen. Mark R. Warner (Va.), said Flynn had declined to cooperate with their first request.

Burr and Warner met Monday with Comey, according to several individuals familiar with the meeting. Later, at a regular meeting of Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Warner informed them that Comey had briefed the two committee chiefs about his request for more resources, according to two officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Adding to the drama Wednesday was Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to Washington — including a closed event at the White House that U.S. news organizations were barred from witnessing even though a photographer from the state-run Russian news service Tass was permitted.

Lavrov fended off questions about Russian interference in the presidential election. And during a visit with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Lavrov professed mock surprise when asked whether Comey’s firing had cast a shadow over his visit.

“Was he fired?” Lavrov said, arching his eyebrows. “You’re kidding! You’re kidding!”

Capitol Hill Democrats and a few Republicans, meanwhile, demanded the launch of an independent investigation into Russia’s interference in the election. To increase pressure, Senate Democrats invoked an obscure rule that prevented committee hearings from continuing past midday.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the Justice Department’s highest-ranking career civil servant, rather than Rosenstein, should appoint a special prosecutor to lead the Russia investigation.

A Trump appointee who assumed office just 10 days ago, Rosenstein wrote the memo that was used to justify Comey’s firing. The document, issued Tuesday, laid out the director’s missteps in handling the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server.

Schumer also called for both Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to brief the entire Senate on the events that led to Comey’s firing — and he urged Comey to accept the invitation to testify next week.

Comey was scheduled to testify Thursday before the Intelligence Committee about national security threats to the United States. Acting FBI director Andrew McCabe is set to appear in his place, along with a slew of other security and intelligence officials.