--- title: Donald Trump: 'Not Too Late' to Ask James Comey to Resign description: "It's not too late, but, you know, I have confidence in him. We'll see what happens." Trump told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo canonical: https://time.com/4736823/donald-trump-james-comey-fbi-russia-investigation/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-12T18:31:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:27.125Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump: It's 'Not Too Late' to Ask James Comey to Resign og:description: "It's not too late, but, you know, I have confidence in him. We'll see what happens." og:url: https://time.com/4736823/donald-trump-james-comey-fbi-russia-investigation/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a328e24574323e2/6988bf328e0601cd3a4699ec/james-comey-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5568 og:image:height: 3132 og:image:alt: House Intelligence Committee og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump: It's 'Not Too Late' to Ask James Comey to Resign twitter:description: "It's not too late, but, you know, I have confidence in him. We'll see what happens." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a328e24574323e2/6988bf328e0601cd3a4699ec/james-comey-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump: It's 'Not Too Late' to Ask FBI Director James Comey to Resign > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=c5c59296-7b48-46b5-89e2-d28b0b0663ca&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * D.C. Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=c5c59296-7b48-46b5-89e2-d28b0b0663ca&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=c5c59296-7b48-46b5-89e2-d28b0b0663ca&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: FBI Director Comey Comments on POTUS Tweet [Watch (HLS stream): FBI Director Comey Comments on POTUS Tweet](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/w53jAggk.m3u8) (1:15)  _Published 2017-03-20. FBI Director James Comey comments on President Trump's tweets during his testimony before the House Intelligence Committee._  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Apr 12, 2017 6:31 PM UTC  FBI Director James Comey testifies during for a House Intelligence Committee hearing in Longworth Building on Russian interference with the 2016 election on March 20, 2017. FBI Director James Comey testifies during for a House Intelligence Committee hearing in Longworth Building on Russian interference with the 2016 election on March 20, 2017. Tom Williams—Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Apr 12, 2017 6:31 PM UTC President Donald Trump said Wednesday that it is not too late to ask [FBI Director James Comey ](http://time.com/4707021/comey-hearing-gravamen-watergate/)to step aside from his position, although he acknowledged he has “confidence” in him. “It’s not too late, but, you know, I have confidence in him. We’ll see what happens,” [Trump](http://time.com/4712153/climate-change-deniers-donald-trump-epa-global-warming/) told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo. “You know, it’s going to be interesting.” Bartiromo had asked Trump directly if it was a mistake that he hadn’t asked Comey to step aside at the beginning of his presidency, and if it was too late to change course. Comey acknowledged in a Congressional testimony on March 20 that the [FBI is investigating](http://time.com/4706646/fbi-russia-james-comey-testimony/) Russian meddling in the 2016 election along with possible links to the Trump campaign. [Former President Barack Obama](http://time.com/4702883/barack-obama-2017-ncaa-bracket/) appointed him to a ten year term as FBI Director in 2013. Trump also invoked [Comey’s press conference](https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/statement-by-fbi-director-james-b-comey-on-the-investigation-of-secretary-hillary-clinton2019s-use-of-a-personal-e-mail-system) in July 2016 where he said Hillary Clinton would not be indicted for her use of a private email server while she was Secretary of State, although he said she and her colleagues “were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.” “Don’t forget, when Jim Comey came out, he saved [Hillary Clinton,”](http://motto.time.com/4731503/hillary-clinton-medgar-evans-cuny-commencement/) Trump told Bartiromo. “People don’t realize that.” “When he was reading those charges, she was guilty on every charge,” Trump continued. “And then he said, she was essentially OK. But he — she wasn’t OK, because she was guilty on every charge.” Trump did praise Comey, however, when he announced [he was re-opening the probe](http://time.com/4549527/hillary-clinton-emails-fbi-reopen/) into Clinton’s email server in October of 2016. ## Transcript Thanks to the modern technology that's in front of me right here, I've got a tweet from the President an hour ago saying the NSA and FBI tell Congress that Russia did not influence the electoral process. So that's not quite accurate that tweet. I'm sorry I haven't been following anybody on twitter while I've been sitting here. I can read it to you it says the NSA and FBI tell Congress that Russia did not influence electoral The electoral process. This tweet has gone out to millions of Americans. 16. 1 million, to be exact. Is the tweet, as I read it to, the NSA and FBI tell congress that Russia did not influence the electoral process, is that accurate? [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Well It's hard for me to react to it, let me just tell you what we understand that the state of, what we've said is. We've offered no opinion, have no view, have no information on potential impact, because it's never something that we looked at. Okay. So it's not too far of a logical leap to conclude that your, that the assertion that you have told the Congress That there was no influence on the electoral process is not quite right. Right, it wasn't, it certainly wasn't our attention to say that today because we don't have any information on that subject. I mean, that's not something that was look at. Right. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4736823/donald-trump-james-comey-fbi-russia-investigation/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4736823/donald-trump-james-comey-fbi-russia-investigation/"},"headline":"President Trump: It's 'Not Too Late' to Ask FBI Director James Comey to Resign","datePublished":"2017-04-12T18:31:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:54:27.125Z","description":"\"It's not too late, but, you know, I have confidence in him. We'll see what happens.\"","url":"https://time.com/4736823/donald-trump-james-comey-fbi-russia-investigation/","keywords":["White House","FBI","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a328e24574323e2/6988bf328e0601cd3a4699ec/james-comey-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alana Abramson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a328e24574323e2/6988bf328e0601cd3a4699ec/james-comey-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"House Intelligence Committee","caption":"House Intelligence Committee","creditText":"Tom Williams—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/4736823/donald-trump-james-comey-fbi-russia-investigation/","name":"President Trump: It's 'Not Too Late' to Ask FBI Director James Comey to Resign"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"FBI Director Comey Comments on POTUS Tweet","description":"FBI Director James Comey comments on President Trump's tweets during his testimony before the House Intelligence Committee.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/w53jAggk/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-03-20T18:57:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/w53jAggk.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4736823/donald-trump-james-comey-fbi-russia-investigation/","duration":"PT1M15S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4736823/donald-trump-james-comey-fbi-russia-investigation/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```