'It's not too late' to get rid of FBI Director James Comey, Trump says
And the president continued to press his unsubstantiated wiretapping claims.
-- President Trump is doubling down on the unsubstantiated wiretapping claims against his predecessor as well as his unproven allegation that former national security adviser Susan Rice may have committed a crime.
In an interview with Fox Business on Tuesday, Trump also suggested he could change his mind on whether FBI Director James Comey remains in his post.
Trump said the latest accusation that Rice ordered the unmasking of various members of his team during the transition supports his March 4 tweets that President Obama wiretapped him and his team before the election.
"When you look at Susan Rice and what's going on and so many people coming up to me and apologizing, now they're saying, 'You know you were right when you said that,'" Trump said. "Perhaps I didn't know how right I was, because nobody knew the extent of it."
Asked about Rice's response that she would never order unmasking for political purposes, Trump countered, "Does anybody really believe that?"
"Nobody believes that, even the people that try to protect her in the news media," he said. "It's such a big story, and I'm sure it will continue forward, but what they did is horrible."
Trump told The New York Times last week that he believed Rice could be guilty of a crime. Her spokesman told ABC News she wouldn't "dignify the president's ludicrous charge with a comment."
Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo asked Trump why he has so many Obama officials remaining in his administration, specifically Comey, who is not technically a political appointee.
Asked whether it was "too late" to get rid of Comey, Trump appeared hesitant to discuss the matter.
"No, it's not too late," Trump said. "But you know, I have confidence in him. We'll see what happens. It is going to be interesting."
He went on to hit Comey for his actions in the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server when she was secretary of state, saying he was "very, very good to her" and "if he weren't, she would probably be going to trial."
Comey said last summer that his agency did not recommend that charges be brought against her, after a yearlong investigation.
Trump, asked whether he's considering taking any further action against Clinton, said, "I don't want to talk about that. I want to talk about positive things."
Trump previously backed away from campaign threats to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the issue.