Trump labels axed FBI chief 'grandstander'

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump blasted ousted FBI chief James Comey as a "showboat" and "grandstander" on Thursday even as the agency's acting leader contradicted the leader's account that the FBI had been in turmoil before he fired Comey.

In testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, acting Federal Bureau of Investigation director Andrew McCabe promised to tell the panel of any White House meddling into the agency's probe into possible collusion between Russia and Trump's presidential campaign.

McCabe testified in place of Comey, who Trump abruptly dismissed as FBI director on Tuesday in an action that has roiled Washington. Democrats have accused the Republican president of trying to foil the FBI's probe into Moscow's actions and many have called for a special prosecutor to look into the matter.