WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan tried to tamp down the furor on Wednesday over reports that President Donald Trump asked former FBI Director James Comey to quash part of his Russia investigation, saying “we need the facts” and adding he has confidence in the president.

“I’m sure we’re going to want to hear from Mr. Comey if this happens as he allegedly describes; why didn’t he take action at the time? So there are a lot of unanswered questions,” Ryan told reporters. “What I told our members is: now is the time to gather all the pertinent information.”

Asked if he had confidence in Trump, Ryan said, “I do.”