Is Trump Working With Russia? Putin Kremlin Ties Investigated By FBI, James Comey Keeps Job

President Donald Trump will keep James Comey, who has been under investigation for his handling of Hillary Clinton’s email controversy by the Department of Justice Inspector, in his role as FBI director, the New York Times reported Tuesday morning. The president previously failed to state whether he’d fire Comey from his 10-year contract with the federal agency for revealing his department was possibly reopening an investigation on Trump’s former presidential opponent just 11 days before the election. Trump said he wanted to meet with Comey first.

The announcement arrived as an ongoing FBI investigation into whether Trump’s team had ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin was reportedly underway. Officials were looking into if the Trump campaign had "improper contact with Russian officials or intermediaries" throughout the 2016 presidential election. There was a host of unusual interference, from cyber-attacks on the Democratic National Committee and the campaign of candidate Hillary Clinton to fake news which systemically attacked the former secretary of state more so than Trump.

The bureau was also continuing separate investigations into Russian hacks on the presidential election which could have aided Trump in securing the White House. House Democrats have blasted Trump and his administration during cabinet confirmation hearings and in the media for not speaking out against the Kremlin’s involvement in compromising America’s "fair and free" election process. The Congress received a confidential briefing on Russian hacking in the U.S. election mid-January that “shook” the confidence in several influential leaders, the Hill reported.

"I was nonjudgmental until the last 15 minutes. I no longer have that confidence in [Comey]," Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., said Jan. 13. "Some of the things that were revealed in this classified briefing — my confidence has been shook."

Trump has reportedly met with Comey twice since winning the presidency. He gave the FBI director a hug while telling reporters, "he’s become more famous than me."