Former FBI Director James Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee “in recent weeks” that he had asked Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for more resources for the Russia probe. | AP Photo Sources: Comey told lawmakers he wanted more resources for Russia probe The Justice Department, however, is denying that Comey had asked the deputy attorney general for more money or resources.

Ousted FBI Director James Comey recently told Senate Intelligence Committee leadership that he had requested more resources for the ongoing investigation into allegations Russia meddled in the U.S. election and into contacts between President Donald Trump’s campaign aides and Russian officials, according to two U.S. officials briefed on the conversation.

Another official familiar with the briefing — which included Senate Intelligence Committee leaders Richard Burr and Mark Warner along with Comey — said it came after weeks of bipartisan pressure from the two leaders for the FBI to speed up the Russia probe. This official said the conversation was nuanced and that Comey told the senators that the inquiry had been effectively stalled due to a lack of access to prosecutors and because there was no one at the Justice Department to guide the probe forward.


According to the official, Comey also referred to the confirmation of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, with the FBI director expressing confidence that development would ensure that the bureau’s investigation would get the resources it needed.

The request Comey referenced came just days before Trump abruptly fired him, citing recommendations from Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who indicated Comey had lost the faith of the department due to his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee “in recent weeks” that he had asked Rosenstein for more resources for the Russia probe, one congressional source said.

A Justice Department spokeswoman adamantly denied initial press reports that Comey had asked Rosenstein for additional money or resources to carry out the inquiry.

“He did not ask.....No money. No resources,” Justice Department Director of Public Affairs Sarah Isgur Flores said, expressing frustration with the accounts citing unnamed sources. "It's totally false."

An FBI spokeswoman said Wednesday she had "no information" about Comey's reported request for additional help.

Deputy White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters at the briefing that she was “not aware” of any such request from Comey.

Flores said Comey and Rosenstein last met on the morning of May 1, with no demand from the FBI director for additional resources. She said she could not address whether Comey might have asked for additional investigative steps that require the involvement of federal prosecutors.

It's unclear whether Rosenstein expressed any displeasure with Comey at that meeting or offered any hint of the scathing letter the deputy attorney general and former U.S. attorney for Maryland would sign eight days later slamming Comey for flouting longstanding Justice Department traditions and policies in the Clinton email investigation.

However, that would coincide with indications of an uptick in investigative activity in the Trump-Russia probe. Two days later, Comey told a Senate panel that prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Alexandria, Virginia, had joined prosecutors from Justice's National Security Division in work on the probe.

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On Tuesday, CNN reported that the Alexandria office had issued grand jury subpoenas exploring the business dealings of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, whom Trump fired in February on the grounds that he misstated details of his contacts with the Russian ambassador.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has sent a letter to Comey requesting that he testify before members in closed session next Tuesday. Comey's former deputy who is currently the acting FBI director, Andrew McCabe, is set to take Comey's spot at another, public hearing Thursday before the same committee.

The ranking Democrat on that panel, Dianne Feinstein of California, said Wednesday she'd not been briefed by Comey about such a request, but was aware that it had been made. It was unclear whether she had independent knowledge of the situation or was referring to press reports.

Josh Gerstein and Austin Wright contributed to this report.

