Washington: Days before he was fired, James Comey, the former FBI director, asked the Justice Department for a significant increase in money and personnel for the bureau's investigation into Russia's interference in the presidential election, according to three officials with knowledge of his request.

Mr Comey asked for the resources during a meeting last week with Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general who wrote the Justice Department's memo that was used to justify the firing of the FBI director this week.

Mr Comey then briefed members of Congress on the meeting in recent days.

The revelation comes as President Donald Trump defended his firing of Mr Comey on Wednesday, fighting a storm of criticism that the ouster was aimed at blunting the Russia probe.

The Republican president's abrupt move on Tuesday stunned Washington and was swiftly condemned by Democrats and by some in his own party. Senior Democrats pressed for an independent investigation into the Russia issue.

In a series of posts on Twitter on Wednesday morning, Mr Trump sought to explain his move and lambasted his critics.

"Comey lost the confidence of almost everyone in Washington, Republican and Democrat alike. When things calm down, they will be thanking me," he said. "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!" he said.

Many Democrats have criticised Mr Comey's management of that investigation, but they sharply questioned the timing of his dismissal, given that Mr Trump could have acted soon after taking office on January 20 and that he has repeatedly criticised the FBI and congressional probes into alleged Russian involvement in the election.

Republicans control both chambers of Congress, and a growing number of Republicans also expressed doubts over Mr Trump's move. However, the Senate majority leader, Republican Mitch McConnell, ridiculed Democrats' criticism, saying they were "complaining about the removal of an FBI director who they themselves repeatedly and sharply criticised."

Trump meets top Russian official

Less than a day after dismissing James B. Comey as director of the FBI, the president met Russia's foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, at the White House. It was the only item on the president's public schedule for Wednesday.

Mr Lavrov began his day at the State Department, meeting Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, and the subject of Mr Comey came up, briefly, in what the State Department hoped would be a controlled encounter with the press.

After Mr Tillerson thanked Mr Lavrov for coming to Washington, the two men began to leave the diplomatic reception room on the seventh floor of the State Department. When a reporter shouted a question about whether Mr Comey's dismissal "cast a shadow" on the meeting, Mr Lavrov, known for a puckish sense of humour, shot back:

"Was he fired? You're kidding! You're kidding!"

He then turned and followed Mr Tillerson into his office.

Rex Tillerson, right, and Sergei Lavrov, at the US Department of State on Wednesday. Photo: Bloomberg

Mr Trump discussed the Syrian civil war with Russia's foreign minister during the pair's meeting in the Oval Office, the highest-level public contact between Mr Trump and the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin since Mr Trump took office on January 20.

"We had a very, very good meeting with Mr Lavrov," Mr Trump told reporters after the talks. "We want to see the killing, the horrible killing, stopped in Syria as soon as possible and everyone is working toward that end," he said.

Members of the American media were not invited into the room to photograph Mr Trump's meeting Mr Lavrov, though a picture of the encounter was released by the Russian foreign ministry on Twitter.

More to come

The New York Times, Reuters