Comey did say the same thing. Yes, they did refuse to answer questions and their reason should have been articulated better.

But I'm listening to this sham that's going on now and I am shocked that everyone is allowing Comey and some of the Democrats to say that he was positively, fired because of the Russian investigation. And that the president said so.

That is simply not factual. The president on numerous occasions stated that Comey was fired because he was not doing a good job. And then as an afterthought, he said that he was thinking about the Russian investigation when he decided to fire Comey. That in no way translates into Comey was fired because of the Russian investigation or that his firing was an attempt to either slow down or stop the investigation. This could be interpreted in many different ways but does not state categorically that the firing had anything to do with the Russian investigation. In fact, the president has also stated that he had been considering replacing Comey for a long time.

The statement that he was thinking about the Russian investigation when he decided to fire Comey could be interpreted as this might slow the investigation, but he has to do it anyway.

This is exactly is what is wrong with our news media today. and it's evidently what is wrong with the FBI and possibly Congress. People in all three entities hear something, interpret it the way they want and then state that their interpretation is fact.