Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, Mr. Flynn’s replacement as national security adviser, said
that “the gist of the conversation was that the president feels as if he is hamstrung in his ability to work with Russia.”
The president mentioned Mr. Comey’s firing “in the context of explaining
that he has been — feels as if he’s been unable to find areas of cooperation with Russia, even as he confronts them in key areas where they’re being disruptive,” General McMaster said on ABC’s “This Week.”
Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson took a different position, saying on “Fox News Sunday”
that Mr. Trump had merely been trying to demonstrate to the Russian officials that he was “not going to be distracted by all these issues that are here at home.”
The president, Mr. Tillerson added, had wanted to show
that the domestic turmoil would not “get in the way of the important work of engaging Russia to see what can be done to improve this relationship
“I don’t know how to read it, except that I’m almost speechless
because I don’t know why someone would say something like that,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.”
Lawmakers have been grappling with a flood of revelations about Mr. Trump’s behavior regarding the Russia investigation, including a report by The Times
that Mr. Trump had asked Mr. Comey to stop the bureau’s investigation of Michael T. Flynn, the president’s former national security adviser, whose ties to Russia and Turkey are under scrutiny.
It would be, obviously, a potential obstruction of justice that people have to make a decision on.”
Mr. Rubio and other Republicans hewed to a line repeated often on Capitol Hill last week:
that they need more information about Mr. Comey’s termination, particularly in light of a report by that Mr. Trump told Russian officials during an Oval Office meeting that Mr. Comey was a “nut job” and that his firing had “taken off” the pressure on the president.