Axios

On CNN's The Lead, Jake Tapper pushed back against the White House's stated reasoning for the termination of FBI Director James Comey — namely, a break in protocol during the Hillary Clinton email investigation and a broad lack of confidence in his leadership — saying that a source close to Comey provided two reasons for the dismissal:

1. "Comey's refusal to provide the president of any sort of assurance of personal loyalty."
2. That the Russia probe is "not only an active investigation, it's actively accelerating."

Mike Pence and White House spokespeople have denied that the FBI's investigation into Russia had anything to do with Comey's firing — Comey was slated to testify in front of the Senate on Thursday. But under Comey, the FBI uncovered information about a number of connections between Trump associates and Russia. These are the 6 people from Trumpworld we know have had dealings with Russian officials.

What about the President? Other than the unverified dossier, which made claims about Trump's own personal contact with Russia, there has been no evidence of Trump directly colluding with Russia. The concern is the people he surrounded himself with during the campaign, and in some cases, in the White House.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke on the Senate floor Wednesday afternoon and called for three things to happen in the aftermath of James Comey's firing:

1. He wants the highest-serving career civil servant at the DOJ to appoint a special prosecutor — notably not Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who he previously said Wednesday morning should be in charge of appointing a special prosecutor. (Read our Facts Matter on that process.)
2. He wants Comey to testify before the Senate, which he has been invited to do on Tuesday.
3. He "demand[s]" that Jeff Sessions and Rod Rosenstein "brief the Senate and answer questions because of so many things swirling about from last night's firing." Schumer insisted each briefing be done separately.

Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in Wednesday's briefing that President Trump had "been considering letting Director Comey go since the day he got elected." She said there has been an "erosion of confidence... a lot of missteps and mistakes," that ultimately led to his ouster:

• Did Trump ask the deputy Attorney General for recommendation Comey be fired? "No," said Sanders, but the two met Monday to discuss Comey's performance.
• Russian investigation: "Any investigation that was going on Monday is still going on today. In fact, we want them to continue the investigation," said Sanders, so everyone can move on once it's over.
• Democrats reaction: "I think it's startling that Democrats aren't celebrating this," said Sanders. "If Hillary had won, which thank God she didn't... Democrats would have been dancing in the streets."
• On Trump meeting with Russian officials: "These are meetings that have been on the books for a while."

Sources at the White House described scenes of confusion in the hours following news of Trump firing Comey. Internally, at least at a fairly senior level, people were scrambling to figure out what happened.

The firing was done in such haste that his own comms shop couldn't catch up, and the vast majority of White House staff learned about it on TV when the news broke, per White House sources. There was a meeting in Spicer's office with about 20 staffers after they announced the news, which happened as Chuck Schumer was on TV giving his response to the news of the firing.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said "it is humiliating for the American people to realize that the Russian federation is controlling the situation in America" during a Wednesday morning presser at the Russian Embassy in the U.S.

More highlights, thanks to translations from CBS and CTV:

His theory on Russian meddling allegations: "I believe that politicians are damaging the political system of the U.S. trying to pretend that someone is controlling America from the outside."

On his conversation this morning: "He didn't raise the issue of Russia's involvement into America's elections last year."

Photos from Trump's Oval Office meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov surfaced online from the Kremlin — not from American press, because the meeting was closed.

Why it matters: Americans are learning about what Trump is doing with Russia from Russia, not from the White House. This strengthens the criticism that the Trump admin lacks transparency, especially when he hasn't held a press conference on James Comey, who was in the middle of investigating Russian interference into the 2016 presidential election.

Update: The White House issued a readout on the meeting Wednesday afternoon, noting Trump and Lavrov discussed Syria, Ukraine, the Middle East, and building a "better relationship" between the U.S. and Russia.

The James Comey plot thickens: NYT reports that he asked for more money and personnel for the Russia investigation in a meeting just days before he was fired.

• Awkward: Comey asked Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein, the same official who wrote the letter the WH used to fire him. Comey then told members of Congress about the meeting.
• Rosenstein is the top official at the DOJ on the Russia investigation: Remember, Jeff Sessions recused himself.
• NYT's sourcing: "Three congressional officials who were briefed on [Comey's] request."
• Other media outlets on it: the WSJ, CNN, NBC News, the AP and WashPost.
• The other side: A Justice Department spokeswoman reportedly denied the claim that Comey asked for more money, per Politico's Josh Gerstein. They have, however, admitted he asked for resources.

On the floor this morning, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for the appointment of a special counsel for the government's investigation into the possible collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials — as well as separate briefings, closed and possibly classified, of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in front of the entire Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell seemingly brushed aside the notion of a special prosecutor before Schumer even spoke, saying:

Today, we'll no doubt hear calls for a new investigation, which could only serve to impede the current work being done.

1. Health and Human Services released a memo saying agency employees shouldn't communicate with members of Congress or their staff without consulting the Assistant Secretary for Legislation and without noting federal whistleblower protections.
2. West Virginia reporter Dan Heyman was arrested with a $5,000 bail last night after pressing HHS secretary Tom Price to answer questions on whether domestic violence would be considered a preexisting condition under the GOP health care bill.
3. The deadline for several Trump aides to turn in a list of their contacts with Russia to the Senate Intelligence Committee was yesterday.
4. Chelsea Manning wrote her first letter since clemency yesterday, after Obama commuted her sentence in January.
5. 8 Democratic senators called for an investigation into Trump adviser Carl Icahn for violating trading laws and using his position to benefit one of the businesses in his control, according to NYT.

Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told Morning Joe Wednesday that President Trump fired James Comey because he lost respect for the FBI director, and that he became a "distraction" in Washington. The Morning Joe hosts asked Sanders these three questions:

1. Was Comey's firing influenced by the Russia investigation? "If that's going to continue, it's going to continue whether Jim Comey is there or not."
2. Should there still be an independent investigation into Russia? "Everybody looks at this and everybody has come to the same conclusion: There is no evidence of collusion with Russia... it's time to move on."
3. Does Trump stand by his repeated praise of Comey? "Knowing the president, I would say, yes, he does."

In a swirl of sobering questions about the Constitution and the rule of law, many Republicans are asking simply: Why now? Why?!

Republicans around town, and even some White House officials, tell me they're baffled by President Trump's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey in the middle of his Russia investigation — and with the explanation that it's because of his handling of Hillary's email, which Trump had praised him for in the past.

"They just barely got the tiniest bit of momentum going after the House health care bill, and now it's like the engine has fallen out of the car," said an outside adviser to the West Wing. "The Russia thing will now go on forever. And the rationale in the letter was preposterous. This was a tremendous miscalculation."

President Trump took to Twitter this morning to call out the Democrats for playing "so sad!" about his decision to fire James Comey after their strong criticism of the FBI Director:

"The Democrats have said some of the worst things about James Comey, including the fact that he should be fired, but now they play so sad! James Comey will be replaced by someone who will do a far better job, bringing back the spirit and prestige of the FBI. Comey lost the confidence of almost everyone in Washington, Republican and Democrat alike. When things calm down, they will be thanking me!"

Who Trump is tweeting at: Last night, several of Hillary Clinton's former campaign aids — many of whom blamed Comey for Clinton's election loss — were quick to criticize Trump's decision.

Hillary Clinton's former aides aren't known for their affection toward James Comey. In fact many of them blamed him for Clinton's election loss, but tonight they were quick to criticize President Trump's decision to fire Comey:

• Senator Tim Kaine, Clinton's former running mate: "Trump firing Comey shows how frightened the Admin is over Russia investigation... Comey firing part of a growing pattern by White House to cover-up the truth."
• John Podesta, former chairman of the Clinton campaign, in reference to former President Richard Nixon's 1973 "Saturday Night Massacre": "@realDonaldTrump Didn't you know you're supposed to wait til Saturday night to massacre people investigating you?"
• Robby Mook, Clinton's former campaign manager who has been outwardly critical of Comey since the election: "Twilight zone. I was as disappointed and frustrated as anyone at how the email investigation was handled. But this terrifies me... Surprised I'm saying this, but I don't see how this bodes well for the Russia investigation."
• Brian Fallon, Clinton's former press secretary: "I'm not shedding any tears for Comey personally -he hurt FBI's reputation- but I do worry whether we ever get to the bottom of Russia now."
• Glen Caplin, former Clinton spokesman who now works as a senior adviser for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand: "I am no Comey fan, but POTUS firing FBI Director conducting investigation into campaign is indefensible. Need independent investigation ASAP... Flynn out, Sessions had to recuse himself, Nunes had to step aside, Epshteyn shipped out of the WH, Comey fired...notice any similarities?"

Among the most prominent officials President Trump has fired since taking office are Sally Yates, Preet Bharara, and James Comey.

What they have in common: They all were investigating Trump when they got fired, and there's a Russia thread in each of their cases.