Did Donald Trump Fire James Comey For Refusing To Pledge Loyalty During White House Meeting?

Even though the White House has refrained from stating the exact reason for the Tuesday firing of former FBI Director James Comey by President Donald Trump, a one-on-one dinner between the two in January could have been the start of a series of events which ultimately ended Comey’s FBI career, as per a New York Times report.

This comes days after Comey's out-of-the-blue firing, with the report claiming he had a confidential meeting with the president at the White House shortly after Trump was sworn into the office.

During the official dinner, the Trump made small talk with the then FBI director, discussing topics such as the election and the number of attendees at the president’s inauguration, the New York Times reported. As the meeting drew to a close, Trump reportedly asked Comey to pledge loyalty to his administration.

Comey is said to have hesitated to give a direct reply.

Eventually, Comey declined Trump’s request, choosing not to get politically involved.

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Instead, Comey reportedly said he could pledge to always be honest in all his investigative findings. Comey’s promise was not enough for Trump who repeated his original demand later during dinner, according to the Hill. However, the president was met with the exact same reply.

The White House has denied the account of the dinner as reported by the New York Times.

"We don’t believe this to be an accurate account,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told The Times. “The integrity of our law enforcement agencies and their leadership is of the utmost importance to President Trump."

"He would never even suggest the expectation of personal loyalty, only loyalty to our country and its great people,” stated the White House.

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The fact that such a dinner took place is undeniable since Trump recounted the event himself during an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt on Thursday. However, he said no talks about the alleged pledge ever took place during the dinner.

During the same interview, he called Comey a “showboat,” and that he was going to be fired “regardless.”

Apart from the fact that no formal reason was stated behind Comey’s firing, Trump also did not personally relay the news to Comey. Instead, his termination letter was sent to the FBI headquarters via a private security guard, Politico reports.

It has also been revealed Comey found out about his firing the same way the rest of the world did – when he turned on the television, a CNBC report said.

Trump was allegedly frustrated Comey would not drop the probe into his administration's possible Russian links, despite his repeated persuasions, according to the Politico report.

He was also unhappy with the fact Comey had chosen not to support Trump’s claims of former president Barack Obama wiretapping his phones during the 2016 presidential campaign.

There have been nationwide protests following Comey’s dismissal. While some demanded Comey be allowed to testify in court, others called for Trump’s impeachment.