Before President Donald Trump abruptly fired him on Tuesday, former FBI Director James Comey had requested additional funding and staffing for the agencys investigation into Russias influence on the 2016 election, multiple sources reported Wednesday.

This news provides a possible explanation for the timing of Trumps stunning decision .

Comey met last week with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, after the Senate Intelligence Committee had asked the FBI director to accelerate the bureaus investigation. Rosenstein wrote a memo that provided Trumps reasoning for firing Comey on Tuesday night , titled Restoring Public Confidence in the FBI.

Rosenstein wrote that he had recommended Comey be fired because the director made serious mistakes in how he handled Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clintons private emails.

Sarah Isgur Flores, the Justice Departments top spokeswoman, told HuffPost that the reports regarding Comey asking for more money were totally false.

Trump did not offer an explanation for Comeys sudden dismissal, telling reporters on Wednesday that hed fired the director simply because he was not doing a good job.

Ryan J. Reilly contributed reporting.