Donald Trump 'asked James Comey if FBI would say he was not under investigation'

Donald Trump called James Comey within weeks of his inauguration and asked when federal authorities would announce the President was not personally under investigation over links to Russia, it has been claimed.

Then FBI director, Mr Comey was leading the probe into alleged links between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, and claims of Russian meddling in the election.

According to the New York Times, he told Mr Trump he had to use the proper channels to request information about the bureau's investigations.

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And Mr Trump's chief of staff, Reince Priebus, pressured Mr Comey to counter media reports of contact between Trump associates and Russia during the campaign, the paper reported.

That request came after a dinner at which Mr Trump is alleged to have asked asked Mr Comey to drop his probe into ex-national security adviser Mike Flynn the Times added. Mr Trump is also said to have the director, who he later fired, to pledge his loyalty.

Mr Comey's records of his interactions with the President, in the form of memos, have been requested by the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee. Jason Chaffetz said he wanted to determine whether Mr Trump had tried to impede the FBI's investigation.

The earlier revelations had fuelled talk of impeachment in Washington, with David Gergen, a former adviser to Presidents Clinton, Reagan and Nixon, saying Mr Trump was now in "impeachment territory".

Mr Trump has denied he tried to have the Flynn probe dropped, and the White House previously said in a statement: "The President has the utmost respect for our law enforcement agencies, and all investigations."