Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump said Wednesday that former FBI Director James Comey was not fired because of the Russia investigation -- a statement directly at odds with the President's own comments on Comey's dismissal.

"Slippery James Comey, the worst FBI Director in history, was not fired because of the phony Russia investigation where, by the way, there was NO COLLUSION (except by the Dems)!" Trump tweeted.

Slippery James Comey, the worst FBI Director in history, was not fired because of the phony Russia investigation where, by the way, there was NO COLLUSION (except by the Dems)! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2018

However, Trump had told NBC News last year that he was thinking of " this Russia thing " when he decided to fire Comey.

When the President fired Comey last May, the White House initially cited a recommendation of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who sharply criticized Comey's handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server as secretary of state.

A few days later, after Comey's ouster, Trump told NBC News' Lester Holt in an interview, "regardless of (Rosenstein's) recommendation, I was going to fire Comey."

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