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Trump insists he's not under FBI investigation

US President Donald Trump has insisted he is not under investigation, while dismissing the FBI director he fired as a "showboat" and "grandstander".

Mr Trump also told NBC News it was his decision alone to sack James Comey.

Mr Comey was leading an inquiry into alleged Russian meddling in the US election and possible collusion between Trump campaign officials and Moscow.

Mr Trump has dismissed the probe as a "charade", a claim directly contradicted by Mr Comey's successor.

In his first interview since firing the FBI director, Mr Trump told NBC News on Thursday he had asked Mr Comey whether he was under investigation.

"I said, if it's possible would you let me know, 'Am I under investigation?' He said: 'You are not under investigation.

"I know I'm not under investigation," Mr Trump told the interviewer, repeating a claim he made in Tuesday's letter of dismissal to Mr Comey.

The president also appeared to undercut the initial White House explanation that he fired Mr Comey on the recommendation of top justice officials.

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"He's a showboat. He's a grandstander. The FBI has been in turmoil. I was going to fire Comey. My decision," Mr. Trump said.

"I was going to fire regardless of recommendation."

"There's no collusion between me and my campaign and the Russians," he added.

Mr. Trump recently tweeted that the Russia-Trump collusion allegations were a "total hoax".

But on Thursday he denied he wanted the FBI inquiry dropped.

Rosenstein's way out - Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein - who penned a memo detailing Mr. Comey's "serious mistakes" - brought a reputation for even-handedness and probity with him to the job of deputy attorney general. Two weeks later, that reputation is being put to the test.

Such is life in the Trump White House, where every appointee and aide is just one tweet, event or press conference away from the maelstrom.

On Tuesday night, as the administration press shop scrambled to explain the president's surprise decision to sack his FBI director, Trump supporters leaned hard on Mr. Rosenstein's credentials to paint the move as a nonpartisan decision based on Mr. Comey's overall job performance.

The deputy attorney general reportedly balked at the characterization that he was the driving force behind Mr. Comey's dismissal, however.

Mr. Rosenstein's threat to resign is different than actually packing bags, of course, and his fate at this point is still tethered firmly to the president he chose to serve.

There is a way out, though. Due to Attorney General Jeff Sessions' recusal on the matter, it's Mr. Rosenstein's call whether to appoint a special counsel to head the Justice Department's Russia investigation. It may be the one card he can play to sidestep the growing frenzy that spins around him.

Details by

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39886496