What's happening in the political world:
Trump defends decision to fire FBI Director Comey
-- President Trump explained in a series of Wednesday morning tweets why he made the decision to fire FBI Director James Comey.
The Democrats have said some of the worst things about James Comey, including the fact that he should be fired, but now they play so sad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2017
James Comey will be replaced by someone who will do a far better job, bringing back the spirit and prestige of the FBI.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2017
Comey lost the confidence of almost everyone in Washington, Republican and Democrat alike. When things calm down, they will be thanking me!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2017
Trump also tweeted out link shared by Drudge Report on "10 scandals" under Comey's watch.
Comey was fired on Tuesday in a letter written by Trump. Trump said Comey was "hereby terminated and removed from office, effective immediately," explaining that he reached the conclusion that Comey is "not able to effectively lead the bureau."
Comey reportedly learned of his dismissal when TV screens flashed the breaking news while he was speaking to FBI employees in Los Angeles Tuesday afternoon.
According to New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt, Comey thought the entire thing was a prank.
At a press briefing Wednesday morning, White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump had been thinking of firing Comey since Election Day.
"The President has lost confidence in Director Comey and, frankly, he'd been considering letting Director Comey go since the day he was elected," Sanders told reporters, adding Trump had a conversation with the deputy attorney general on Monday where they had come to him to "express their concerns."
Pence agrees with decision to fire Comey
-- Vice President Mike Pence said the decision to fire FBI Director James Comey was the correct one and was not related to the ongoing investigation into a possible link between Russia and Donald Trump's campaign.
"There is no evidence of collusion between our campaign and any Russian officials."
Trump set to meet with Russian foreign minister
-- President Trump is scheduled to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday at the White House.
According to CNN, Lavrov had planned to be in Washington Wednesday to meet with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Tillerson and Lavrov are scheduled to meet earlier Wednesday to discuss Ukraine, Syria and bilateral issues, the State Department announced.
In addition to the tensions between Washington and Moscow over geopolitics, the meetings between Tillerson and Lavrov, and now between Trump and the Russian foreign minister, come against a backdrop of recriminations over alleged Russian interference in the 2016 elections and the firing of FBI director James Comey.
Subpoenas issued in FBI's Russia investigation
-- Federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas to associates of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn seeking business records, as part of the ongoing probe of Russian meddling in last year's election, according to people familiar with the matter.
The subpoenas represent the first sign of a significant escalation of activity in the FBI's broader investigation begun last July into possible ties between Trump campaign associates and Russia.
CNN contributed to this report
