--- ---  # President Trump to Russian Diplomats: Firing 'Nut Job' James Comey Relieved Pressure From Russia Probe by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. May 19, 2017 7:41 PM UTC  President Trump attends a joint news conference with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos at the White House May 18, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Trump attends a joint news conference with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos at the White House May 18, 2017 in Washington, DC.Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. May 19, 2017 7:41 PM UTC [President Donald Trump](http://time.com/4783666/donald-trump-special-counsel-robert-mueller-russia/) told Russian diplomats who visited the Oval Office that firing former FBI director James Comey relieved “great pressure” he felt regarding the bureau’s investigation into possible collusion between his campaign and Russian operatives, according to a [New York _Times_ report](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/us/politics/trump-russia-comey.html?%5Fr=0). Trump referred to Comey, who was [fired](http://time.com/4776737/president-donald-trump-james-comey-fired-russia-investigation/) earlier this month, as a “real nut job,” according to the Times, which cited a document that summarized the [president’s meeting](http://time.com/4781992/vladimir-putin-donald-trump-russia-congress-notes/) with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. “I just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job,” Trump said, according to the _Times_. “I faced great pressure because of Russia. That’s taken off.” “I’m not under investigation,” he added, according to the _Times._ Trump’s comments again highlight that he seemingly fired Comey because he was frustrated with the FBI’s investigation into ties between his campaign and Russia. Although he essentially said he came to his decision because of the investigation during an [interview with NBC News](http://time.com/4776737/president-donald-trump-james-comey-fired-russia-investigation/) last week, the White House’s official reasoning for firing Comey has shifted several times. The meeting between Trump and the Russian officials also proved controversial after it was revealed that the president [disclosed classified information](http://time.com/4781992/vladimir-putin-donald-trump-russia-congress-notes/) to the diplomats. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer did not dispute the _Times_ account of Trump’s conversation with the Russian officials. He said in a statement that Comey put pressure on Trump’s ability to work on diplomatic matters with Russia. “By grandstanding and politicizing the investigation into Russia’s actions, James Comey created unnecessary pressure on our ability to engage and negotiate with Russia,” Spicer said. “The investigation would have always continued, and obviously, the termination of Comey would not have ended it. Once again, the real story is that our national security has been undermined by the leaking of private and highly classified conversations.” Donald Trump Told Russians James Comey Was a 'Nut Job' ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4786698/president-trump-james-russia-comey-nut-job/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4786698/president-trump-james-russia-comey-nut-job/"},"headline":"President Trump to Russian Diplomats: Firing 'Nut Job' James Comey Relieved Pressure From Russia Probe","datePublished":"2017-05-19T19:41:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T05:01:49.215Z","description":"\"I just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job,\" Trump said","url":"https://time.com/4786698/president-trump-james-russia-comey-nut-job/","keywords":["White House","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte908718b8af37d18/6988ce20cf40a82199c47c60/trump9.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte908718b8af37d18/6988ce20cf40a82199c47c60/trump9.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Donald Trump Holds Joint Press Conference With Colombian President Santos","caption":"Donald Trump Holds Joint Press Conference With Colombian President Santos","creditText":"Mark Wilson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4786698/president-trump-james-russia-comey-nut-job/","name":"President Trump to Russian Diplomats: Firing 'Nut Job' James Comey Relieved Pressure From Russia Probe"}}]}] ```