Article snippet: ABC News reported this week that special counsel FBI director. The move is a strong signal that Mueller’s team is actively investigating whether President Trump tried to obstruct a federal criminal probe over Russia’s attempts to influence last year’s presidential election. But what exactly is known about the controversial move to ax Comey, and what could it mean for what Mueller’s team is still hoping to uncover? Shifting narratives and conflicting messages about possible intentions and directives before the May firing took place have helped make it all quite murky. Here is a breakdown of the known facts, and the unanswered questions, about the whole matter. The White House released a statement after the firing, pointing to recommendations from Deputy Attorney General Jeff Sessions as key motivating factors. "President Trump acted based on the clear recommendations of both Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions," the White House statement read. Rosenstein wrote a memorandum, dated May 9, to Sessions, criticizing Comey’s handling of the Clinton email investigation, as well as Comey’s July 5, 2016, news conference on the FBI’s ultimate findings in that probe. “I cannot defend the director's handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton's emails, and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken,” Rosenstein wrote. The White House r... Link to the full article to read more