DONALD Trump has revealed he asked FBI boss James Comey if he was under investigation for alleged ties to Russia.

In an interview with NBC, Mr Trump called Mr Comey a “showboat” who he was going to fire anyway regardless of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s recommendation.

Asked by Lester Holt if he queried Mr Comey on whether or not he was under investigation, he replied “I actually asked him”.

“I said, ‘if it’s possible would you let me know, am I under investigation?’ He said, ‘You are not under investigation.’” Mr Trump said.

Mr Trump said Mr Comey had relayed the information that he was not under investigation three times — twice on the phone and once at dinner.

White House deputy press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said she did not believe it was inappropriate for Mr Trump to ask Mr Comey if he was under investigation at a dinner in which Mr Comey was asking to retain his job.

“I don’t see it as a conflict of interest,” she said.

The US President said he was not a fan of Mr Comey’s.

“He’s a showboat, he’s grandstander, the FBI has been in turmoil,” Mr Trump said. “You know that, I know that. Everybody knows that. You take a look at the FBI a year ago, it was in virtual turmoil, less than a year ago. It hasn’t recovered from that.”

Mr Trump said Mr Rosenstein’s memo recommending MR Comey be fired was not the main reason for the sacking.

“I was going to fire Comey,” Mr Trump said. “Regardless of the recommendation I was going to fire Comey.”

ACTING FBI BOSS: COMEY HAD OUR SUPPORT

It came as Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe contradicted the White House claim that fired director James Comey had lost the support of rank-and-file members of the bureau.

“Director Comey enjoyed broad support within the FBI and still does today,” Andrew McCabe told the Senate Intelligence Committee, two days after Mr Comey was dismissed.

“I hold director Comey in the highest regard. I have the highest respect for his abilities and his integrity.”

He also called the Russia investigation “highly significant”, contradicting claims from the White House.

He also refused to confirm Mr Trump’s account that Mr Comey told him he wasn’t under investigation. He also declined to support statements in Mr Trump’s letter sacking Mr Comey that the then-FBI Director had told him on three separate occasions that he wasn’t under investigation with regards to Russian interference in the US election.

The committee’s chairman, Republican Richard Burr, asked Mr McCabe if Mr Comey had ever told Mr Trump that he was not the subject of any investigation.

Mr McCabe said he could not comment on any conversations between Mr Trump and Mr Comey.

Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe: “The vast majority of FBI employees enjoyed a deep and positive connection to Director Comey.” pic.twitter.com/dQZkwA0G9Y — CNN (@CNN) May 11, 2017

He did say that the FBI’s investigation would continue and that the agency had not been pressured by anyone.

“There has been no effort to impede our investigation to date,” Mr McCabe said. “You cannot stop the men and women of the FBI from doing the right thing.”

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein reportedly threatened to quit after he was named as the driving force behind Mr Trump’s decision to fire Mr Comey.

The Washington Post reports that Mr Rosenstein and his boss, Attorney General Jeff Sessions were told by Mr Trump to come up with a list of reasons to sack Mr Comey.

The White House then said Mr Rosenstein’s memo titled Restoring Public Confidence in the FBI was the reason Mr Trump decided to act now and fire Mr Comey.

“The president took the advice of the deputy attorney general who oversees the director of the FBI, brought those concerns to the attorney general who brought them to the president, and they made a decision to remove him,”: Mr Trump’s adviser Kellyanne Conway told CNN.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer and his deputy Sarah Huckabee Sanders also attributed the sacking to Mr Rosenstein’s memo.

That position changed overnight with Ms Huckabee Sanders taking the podium of the White House briefing room to say it was entirely the president’s decision.

“I went off the information I had,” she said, denying she had deliberately misled the press. “I don't think there was ever an attempt to pin the decision on the Deputy AG.”

Mr Rosenstein, a 52-year-old Harvard graduate, has a reputation as a straight shooter and nonpartisan

Ms Conway was asked if Mr Rosenstein had been asked to write the memo, to which she replied “now you’re insulting him”.

“One presumes that he wrote the report on his own. He’s fully capable of writing a report,” she said.

The White House says Mr Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton investigation was another nail in the FBI director’s coffin.

Ms Huckabee Sanders said “I am not aware” of the claim that Mr Rosenstein threatened to quit over the way Mr Comey’s dismissal was attributed to his memo.

She said the Trump White House isn’t trying to quash the investigation.

“Any investigation that was taking place on Monday is still taking place today,” she said.

Mr Rosenstein is acting Attorney General after Jeff Sessions recused himself from all matters relating to the Russia investigation because of his close ties to the Trump campaign.

WHITE HOUSE FURIOUS AT RUSSIA OVER THIS PIC

The White House said got trolled by Russia with the release of a photo that showed President Trump shaking hands with a suspected spymaster in the Oval Office, according to a report.

News agency TASS posted the photo showing Mr Trump and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shaking hands during the meeting that was closed to reporters.

The White House was blindsided that the photo ended up on social media — and was used by Russia to troll the US.

“They tricked us,” one White House official groused to CNN. “That’s the problem with the Russians — they lie.”

The Russians posted the Lavrov picture and another from that day showing Mr Trump smiling and shaking hands with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak on Twitter.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also tweeted a video of Mr Lavrov cracking a sarcastic joke about Mr Comey’s termination after meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, which was open to press.

“Was [Comey] fired? You are kidding! You are kidding!” Mr Lavrov snapped at a reporter.

VOTER FRAUD PANEL TO BE LAUNCHED

Mr Trump has signed an executive order launching a commission to review alleged voter fraud and voter suppression in the US election system.

Vice President Mike Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach will lead the commission, which will look at allegations of improper voting and fraudulent voter registration in states and nationally.

Mr Trump has alleged, without evidence, that three to five million people voted illegally in his 2016 campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The panel will include Republicans and Democrats and include current and former state election officials.

CommSec: US Close 11 May 17 CommSec: US Close 11 May 17

TRUMP’S POLLS AT NEAR-RECORD LOW

The latest Quinnipiac Poll reveals just 36 per cent of voters approve of the job President Trump is doing as commander-in-chief, with 58 per cent saying they disapprove of his performance.

According to the poll, he took the biggest hits among white voters with no university degree, white men and independent voters.

“There is no way to spin or sugar-coat these sagging numbers,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

US Majority of American voters strongly disapprove of #PresidentDonaldTrump’s job performancehttps://t.co/PIA5Rtrafi pic.twitter.com/foiK21r29f — Quinnipiac Poll (@QuinnipiacPoll) May 11, 2017

He added: “The erosion of white men, white voters without college degrees and independent voters, the declaration by voters that President Donald Trump’s first 100 days were mainly a failure and deepening concerns about Trump’s honesty, intelligence and level headedness are red flags that the administration simply can’t brush away.”

More than 100 voters were surveyed for the American poll from May 4-9.