White House counselor Kellyanne Conway pushed back against claims that President Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey was an attempt to suspend a federal investigation into connections between Russia and the administration.

"He's wrong, it's not a cover-up," Conway told CNN host Anderson Cooper in response to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's statement.

"I told the president, 'with all due respect, you are making a big mistake,'" Schumer had said. "The first question that he has to answer is, why now?"

Conway pushed back at Schumer's criticism of Comey, saying the New York Democrat had praised Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein during his confirmation hearing last week and Democrats' rebuke of Comey was only happening now because of its convenience.

"The same senators that just voted to confirm this man, whose integrity is not in doubt, 94-6 two short weeks ago, we're supposed to believe the derogatory descriptions you just made of him. That's not fair. And it was Sen. Schumer who said about Mr. Rosenstein, he has developed a reputation for integrity," Conway said.

Conway also said the reason Trump wrote that Comey had assured him on three occasions that he was not under investigation, was to set the record straight for the incoming FBI director.