text: WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The White House initially said Trump fired Comey over his handling of the Hillary Clinton private email server investigation, however, later the US president stated that when he decided to dismiss Comey, he was thinking of the Russia investigation. US President Donald Trump said in a statement on Thursday that he did not fire former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey because of the Russia investigation. Not that it matters but I never fired James Comey because of Russia! The Corrupt Mainstream Media loves to keep pushing that narrative, but they know it is not true! In an interview with NBC News' Lester Holt in May 2017, Trump said he was thinking about "this Russia thing" when he decided to fire Comey. READ MORE: Twitter on Fire as Comey Strikes Back at Trump "Lying" About FBI Comey's firing ultimately led to the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller to investigate allegations of Russian interference into the 2016 election and collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign. Russian officials have repeatedly denied allegations of interference, calling the accusations groundless and absurd. Trump has also denied any collusion with the Kremlin and has called Mueller's investigation "a witch hunt."