A source says former FBI director James Comey was fired by President Trump for two reasons: refusing to offer personal loyalty to Trump, and the FBI's intensifying investigation into possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia.

The source, a person close to Comey, shared the two reasons with CNN Wednesday. The information contradicts the reasoning for Comey's firing as explained by the Trump administration.

Earlier on Wednesday, the White House said that Trump has been considering firing Comey since he took office in January.

"The president ... had lost confidence in Director Comey," White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. "He'd been considering letting Director Comey go since they day he was elected."

The White House denied that Trump ordered Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his deputy Rod Rosenstein to come up with a reason to fire Comey.

Trump both praised and criticized Comey during his 2016 campaign for his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server, and in April said in an interview that he "had confidence" in Comey.

Multiple reports on Wednesday said that Comey had requested more money for the FBI's investigation into possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia days before he was fired.