Trump Requested End to FBI Investigation into Flynn; White House Denies

According to reports from several international media outlets, Donald Trump, the President of the United States, during a meeting with James Comey, the recently dismissed head of the FBI, requested an end to the investigation regarding the "connections" between his former National Security Advisor and Russia. The White House has denied these reports. According to published reports, James Comey, the FBI director who was dismissed by Donald Trump last week, had a meeting with Mr. Trump one day after the dismissal of Michael Flynn, the President's National Security Advisor. In this dinner meeting, as noted in Comey's memos, Trump requested an end to the investigation into allegations concerning Flynn's "connections" with Russian officials. Several media outlets, including Reuters, Associated Press, and The New York Times, claim to have seen the text of these memos. The White House has denied reports regarding the President's request to end the investigation, which could legally be interpreted as "obstruction of justice." The dismissal of James Comey; a week full of news. New reports have emerged during a week in which the topic of Mr. Comey's dismissal, reactions to it, Mr. Trump's meeting with Russian officials, and ultimately the release of details regarding conversations between the U.S. President and the Russian Foreign Minister have been in the spotlight. James Comey was dismissed from the FBI on May 9. The next day, Donald Trump met with Sergey Lavrov, the Foreign Minister, and Sergey Kislyak, the Russian Ambassador in Washington. On the evening of May 25, several media outlets reported, citing unnamed officials, that in this meeting, Mr. Trump provided "classified information" regarding "ISIS" to the Russian officials. The White House has denied these reports. The President of the United States has also defended his decision to share some information "related to terrorism and airline security" with Russian officials, stating that this action is his "absolute right." According to the latest reports, the former FBI head described the nature of the request made by the President to end the investigation into Mr. Flynn in his notes as follows: "I hope you agree that this matter should be put to rest; Flynn should be put to rest, go away... he is a good guy." Michael Flynn resigned from his position on February 25 after reports emerged regarding his "contacts" with the Russian ambassador in the U.S. and "discussions about imposed sanctions." In his resignation letter, he acknowledged that he had multiple contacts with the Russian ambassador during the transition period between the Trump administration and the previous government and provided Mike Pence, the Vice President, with "incomplete" information regarding the content of these contacts. The New York Times reports that during the meeting between the former FBI head and the U.S. President at the White House, Mr. Trump also criticized the leaking of government information to the media and asked James Comey to consider the issue of legally pursuing journalists for publishing classified information. The White House's denial and lawmakers' reactions. The White House stated that media reports regarding the former FBI head's memos "do not provide a true and accurate picture of the conversation between the President and Mr. Comey... The President never asked Mr. Comey or anyone else to end any investigation." Democratic representatives in the U.S. Congress have warned about the new reports. Senator Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Democratic minority leader in the Senate, stated that these reports represent "one of the most serious allegations that can be made against a political leader." Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer also stated that "the country is undergoing an unprecedented test." Several Republican representatives have also expressed concern and called for the release of James Comey's notes, which are the source of the media reports. Jason Chaffetz, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, which is conducting investigations into Russia, also stated that these notes raise concerns about "inappropriate interference in an ongoing investigation." Mr. Chaffetz said his committee is seeking to review James Comey's notes and is prepared to compel the Department of Justice to provide reports if necessary.