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President Donald Trump on Thursday ran into resistance for calling ousted FBI chief James Comey a "showboat," an attack that was swiftly contradicted by top US senators and the acting FBI leader, who pledged that an investigation into possibleTrump campaign ties to Russia would proceed with vigour.
In his first interview since firing Comey on Tuesday, Trump appeared to try to underscore that Comey's dismissal was about his performance at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and not about the Russia probe.
Trump faces accusations from Democrats that he fired Comey to hinder the FBI investigation into US intelligence agency allegations that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election to benefit Trump.
The probe has hung over Trump's presidency since he took office in January and threatens to overwhelm his policy priorities.
Trump's characterisation was odds with that of the top Republican and Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, testifying in place of Comey, contradicted Trump's appraisal of turmoil at the FBI, saying that Comey had "broad support" from the rank and file "and still does to this day".
Several candidates are being considered to replace Comey, a senior White House official said, including Mike Rogers, a former Republican representative; Trey Gowdy, a Republican representative and former federal prosecutor; Alice Fisher, assistant attorney general in the George W Bush administration; and Ray Kelly, former commissioner of the New York Police Department.
The nominee must be confirmed by the US Senate.
McCabe promised to tell senators of any White House meddling into the agency's probe on Russia. Democrats have called for a special counsel to look into the matter.
"It is my opinion and belief that the FBI will continue to pursue this investigation vigorously and completely," McCabe told the senators.
Moscow has denied interference in the election, and the Trump administration denies allegations of collusion with Russia. In firing Comey, Trump said he knew he ran the risk he would "confuse people" and "lengthen out the investigation" into ties to Russia.
His explanation of why he fired Comey ran counter to previous administration explanations of Comey's dismissal.
The White House and Vice President Mike Pence had said Trump fired Comey on the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and No 2 Justice Department official Rod Rosenstein.
Rosenstein, who met privately with some senators on Thursday, was invited to brief all 100 senators next week, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said. Schumer said he hoped that Sessions would also speak to senators separately on the firing of Comey.
In the House of Representatives, Justin Amash, a Republican member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said on Twitter that he had signed onto Democratic-sponsored legislation calling for an independent, bipartisan commission to probe Russian meddling in last year’s US election campaign.
Leaders of the US intelligence agencies, including Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and CIA chief Mike Pompeo, testified to the senators on Thursday that they agreed with that finding.
Trump, in his interview, also gave further details of his account that Comey had told him on three separate occasions that he was not under investigation in the Russia matter.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she believed it was not a conflict of interest for a president to ask the FBI chief such a question.
Comey has not publicly discussed any conversations he had with Trump.
At the Senate hearing, McCabe testified it was not typical practice to tell people they were not a target of an investigation.
Warner, the top Democrat on the panel, said it was "hard to avoid the conclusion" that Trump's firing of Comey was related to the Russia investigation.
"And while it's clear to me now more than ever that an independent special counsel must be appointed, make no mistake our committee will get to the bottom of what happened during the 2016 presidential election," Warner said.
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