President Donald Trump was "acting in accordance with his competence," when he fired FBI Director James Comey, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday told the CBS News.
Putin, speaking to CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer before he took the ice at a hockey game in Sochi in which he was participating in, also said Comey's firing will "have no effect" when asked whether the dismissal would impact relations between Russia and the U.S.
"There will be no effect," Putin said, with press aide Dmitry Peskov translating. "Your question looks very funny for me. Don't be angry with me. We have nothing to do with that."
"President Trump is acting in accordance with his competence, in accordance with his law and Constitution," Putin said. "What about us? Why we?"
Comey's dismissal shocked Washington, particularly because he was leading the FBI's investigation into whether Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election.
But Trump said Wednesday that Comey was fired "because he wasn't doing a good job."
The president made the remark while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak. Asked if Comeys' firing affected the meeting with Lavrov and Kislyak, Trump said, "not at all."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.