The shocking firing of FBI director James Comey in the United States is continuing to shake up Washington.
The decision, which US president Donald Trump admits was his decision, has been swiftly condemned by the opposition Democrats and by some within his own Republican Party.
But in an interview with NBC News, the President has justified the move, saying the Bureau had been struggling under Mr Comey's leadership.
"He's a showboat. He's a grandstander. The FBI has been in turmoil. 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."
Earlier this week, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the President had acted on the recommendation of the Justice Department.
But Mr Trump says he would have fired Mr Comey even if the second-ranking Justice Department official, Rod Rosenstein, had not recommended it.
"I was going to fire Comey. There's no good time to do it, by the way. He (Rosenstein) made a recommendation. He's highly respected, very good guy, very smart guy, the Democrats like him, the Republicans like him. He made a recommendation. But regardless of recommendation, I was going to fire Comey."
The Democrats are calling for a special prosecutor to carry on the investigation into alleged links between the Russian government and the Trump campaign.
They say Mr Comey's sacking was an attempt to thwart that FBI investigation.
The FBI is looking into alleged Russian meddling in last year's presidential election, as well as possible collusion between Trump campaign officials and Russia.
Critics of Mr Comey's dismissal have speculated that, as the leader of the campaign, President Trump himself would come under investigation.
But he denies the sacking was linked to the investigation, instead citing the FBI's handling of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.
The President insists that, on three occasions, Mr Comey assured him he was not under investigation.
"During a phone call, he said it. And then during another phone call, he said it. So he said it once at dinner, and then he said it twice during phone calls. I actually asked him, yes. I said, 'If it's possible, would you let me know, am I under investigation?' He said, 'You are not under investigation.'"
But in testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, acting FBI director Andrew McCabe said it is not standard practice to inform subjects if they are under investigation.
When Mr McCabe was pressed on the issue by Republican senator Susan Collins, his response appeared to contradict Mr Trump's claims.
(Collins:) "Is it standard practice for the FBI to inform someone that they are not a target of an investigation?"
(McCabe:) "It is not."
Mr McCabe's testimony also conflicted with the President's claims of turmoil at the FBI under Mr Comey.
He told the committee the ousted director was widely supported.
"I can tell you that I hold Director Comey in the absolute highest regard. I have the highest respect for his considerable abilities and his integrity, and it has been the greatest privilege and honour of my professional life to work with him. I can tell you also that Director Comey enjoyed broad support within the FBI and still does to this day."
Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley has called on the FBI to publicly confirm whether or not it is investigating Mr Trump.
He said in a statement James Comey had previously briefed him and he heard nothing that contradicted the President's statement.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee have promised to push ahead with the Russian investigation.
Committee chairman Richard Burr, a Republican, says it will continue to aggressively pursue the matter despite the chaos over Mr Comey's firing.
"Regardless of what happens by the Justice Department or by the FBI, that the investigation that's done by the Senate Intelligence Committee will continue on its current course as aggressively as we're able to, based upon what we glean."
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