Article snippet: Vice President Mike Pence pushed back on suggestions Wednesday that President FBI Director James Comey was related to the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in last year's presidential election and potential ties to associates of Trump. Pence, speaking to the press at the Capitol in his first public comments after the firing, insisted that Trump's decision was based solely on the best interests of the country and that he was acting upon the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Pence dismissed questions about the Russia probe by noting, as Trump did in his letter informing Comey of his termination, that the president is "not under investigation" himself. "That is not what this is about," said Pence. Trump has expressed his dissatisfaction with the existence of the investigation on numerous occasions, insisting that there is no connection to his campaign. The vice president reiterated that point Wednesday, referring, as Trump has, to former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper who testified that -- to his knowledge -- there was no evidence of collusion between Russia and the campaign. "The president and I remain confident that the committees in the house and the senate that are looking into every aspect of issues that arise out of last year's election will be able to do their work and do it in an orderly way," said Pence. "The president himself was informed several times b... Link to the full article to read more