Thread: President Trump fires FBI Director James Comey

President Trump fires FBI Director James Comey

David Jackson , USA TODAY
Published 5:47 p.m. ET May 9, 2017

President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday, the White House said.

Trump's actions to fire Comey were based on the clear recommendations of both Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.

“The FBI is one of our Nation’s most cherished and respected institutions and today will mark a new beginning for our crown jewel of law enforcement,” Trump said in a statement.

​A search for a new permanent FBI director will begin immediately, Spicer said.

The firing came just after the FBI confirmed Comey provided erroneous testimony to a Senate panel about how Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin handled classified emails.

The FBI is currently conducting an investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during last year's presidential election.

Comey also has been under fire from Democrats for months over his announcement, less than two weeks before the November election, that the FBI was reopening an e-mail investigation into Clinton.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...mey/101485500/

Oh, what a great decision. Comey ain't right. He's a storyteller, fabricator, silly self-serving goose, and without question can not lead the FBI. Thank goodness we have an Attorney General, Assistant Attorney General and a President of the United States with the common sense, intelligence and loyalty to our nation to do the right thing.

F.B.I. Director James Comey Is Fired by Trump

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR and MATT APUZZO
MAY 9, 2017

WASHINGTON — President Trump has fired the director of the F.B.I., James B. Comey, over his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails, the White House said on Tuesday.

“While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the bureau,” Mr. Trump said in a letter to Mr. Comey dated Tuesday.

“It is essential that we find new leadership for the F.B.I. that restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission,” Mr. Trump wrote.

Officials at the F.B.I. said they were not immediately aware of Mr. Comey’s dismissal, which Mr. Trump described as effective immediately.
Comey Tried to Shield the F.B.I. From Politics. Then He Shaped an Election.

As the F.B.I. investigated Hillary Clinton and the Trump campaign, James B. Comey tried to keep the bureau out of politics but plunged it into the center of a bitter election.

In a separate letter released at the White House, Mr. Spicer said that the president informed the director that he has been “terminated and removed from office.”

Memos released by the White House show that Rod J. Rosenstein, the newly sworn-in deputy attorney general, that recommended Mr. Comey be fired over how he disclosed the investigation into Mrs. Clinton.

Mr. Comey broke with longstanding tradition and policies by discussing the case and chastising the Democratic presidential nominee’s “careless” handling of classified information. Then, in the campaign’s final days, Mr. Comey announced that the F.B.I. was reopening the case, a move that earned him widespread criticism.

“The F.B.I. is one of our nation’s most cherished and respected institutions and today will mark a new beginning for our crown jewel of law enforcement,” Mr. Trump said in the statement.

A longtime prosecutor who served as the deputy attorney general during the George W. Bush administration, Mr. Comey came into office with widespread bipartisan support.

Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon and a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a post on Twitter that Mr. Comey “should be immediately called to testify in an open hearing about the status of Russia/Trump investigation at the time he was fired.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/09/u...fired-fbi.html

Trump fires FBI Director Comey

Published May 09, 2017
Fox News

Comey to have closed door meeting with House Intel Committee

President Trump on Tuesday fired FBI Director James Comey, abruptly ending a rocky year-long stretch for the top law enforcement officer who came under fire for his handling of the Clinton email probe -- and whose agency has been investigating whether Trump's campaign had ties to Russia.

“The FBI is one of our nation’s most cherished and respected institutions, and today will mark a new beginning for our crown jewel of law enforcement,” Trump said.

The president told Comey in a brief letter that he could not “effectively lead” the bureau and called for “new leadership that restores public trust and confidence” in law enforcement.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the president’s decision was based on “the clear recommendations” of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

A search for a new permanent FBI director will begin immediately.

The White House made the stunning announcement shortly after the FBI corrected a sentence in Comey's sworn testimony on Capitol Hill last week. The director had told congressional lawmakers that Huma Abedin, as a top aide to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, had sent "hundreds and thousands" of emails to her husband's laptop, including some with classified information.

On Tuesday, the FBI said in a two-page letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee that only "a small number" of the thousands of emails found on the laptop had been forwarded there while most had simply been backed up from electronic devices.

But that error was apparently unrelated to the Comey firing. DOJ officials instead cited his handling of the Clinton probe.

Comey first ran into problems during the 2016 presidential race when he tried to conclude his investigation into Clinton’s use of a private server system for emails while at the State Department.

He concluded that Clinton, then the Democratic presidential nominee, had not acted criminally with classified emails but said she had been “extremely careless.”

He then announced a revived probe regarding the emails and Abedin’s handling of them in the closing days of the race.

Clinton has said that largely contributed to her loss to Trump, while Comey has defended his actions.

The FBI and other members of the U.S. intelligence community, as well as Congress, are now investigating the extent to which Russia was involved in stealing and making public emails from Clinton’s presidential campaign.

“While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgement of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the bureau,” Trump said in a letter to Comey, obtained by Fox News.

Comey, 56, was nominated by President Barack Obama for the FBI post in 2013 to a 10-year term. Praised for his independence and integrity, Comey has spent three decades in law enforcement and has been no stranger to controversy.

Sessions said Comey was fired because the FBI needs a "fresh start."

In his letter to Trump, Sessions said the next FBI director must be someone who follows "faithfully the rules and principles" of the Justice Department.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said Comey had lost the "public trust and confidence."

He also said Comey's decisions on controversial matters, including the Clinton email matter, "have prompted concern from across the political spectrum" and from career law enforcement experts."

Democrats are further insisting on an independent prosecutor to investigate possible links between the Trump campaign and Russia, following the firing.

"The only way the American people can have faith in this investigation is for it to be led by a fearless special prosecutor," said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, N.Y.

Fox News’ Joseph Weber, Serafin Gomez, Lesa Jansen and John Roberts and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017...tor-comey.html

BREAKING: Trump Fires FBI Director James Comey

Wow, stuff is coming out now that proves this was an even better decision than we might have otherwise thought. According to Tucker Carlson, everyone in Congress was afraid of Jim Comey. Trump absolutely made the right decision and it was also correct to do it quickly, even better actually a it turned out while he was out of town.

Why did Trump fire FBI Director James Comey? Cover-up of Russia investigation suspected

AOL.COM EDITORS
May 9th 2017 8:21PM


President Donald Trump made waves on Tuesday as the White House announced he had suddenly fired FBI Director James Comey, immediately sparking an intense flurry of reactions across the political world.

Comey's termination is on the heels of the FBI clarifying inaccuracies in a passionate and dramatic testimony Comey had given the week prior over his investigation into Hillary Clinton's email scandal during her time as secretary of state.

Trump said the recommendation came from Attorney General Jeff Sessions and White House officials reported that the revelation of Comey's inaccurate testimony was the final straw that drove Trump's decision.

But as head of the FBI, Comey had been tasked with leading the investigation into collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia and possible interference in the 2016 presidential election -- sparking speculation, especially among Democrats, that the Trump administration sought to squash that investigation.
See the wildest reactions to the news:

23 TWEETS

The former Democratic vice presidential nominee, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, floated the idea in a series of tweets, saying the termination proved "how frightened the Admin is over Russia investigation," arguing that it was "part of a growing pattern by White House to cover-up the truth."

Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer quickly called for an independent investigator to take over the Russia probe.
"This is part of a deeply troubling pattern from the Trump administration," the Democratic leader said in a press conference shortly after the announcement. "This does not seem to be a coincidence."

SEE MORE: Susan Rice declines request to testify on Russia's 2016 election involvement

Schumer added that "every American will rightly suspect that the decision to fire Director Comey was part of a coverup," if the Justice Department did not assign a special prosecutor.

"But does anyone seriously believe @realDonaldTrump fired the top person investigating his ties to Russia because he was unfair to Hillary?" Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts tweeted in response, echoing Schumer's calls for a special prosecutor.

SEE ALSO: Senator: Something is preventing Trump from reaching 'obvious conclusions'

"We are in a full-fledged constitutional crisis," Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz, also a Democrat, said.

Democrats took a particularly critical tone of the decision, but reactions did not fall exclusively along party lines. While some Republicans defended the move, noting that Comey's behavior had been called into question before and that the FBI director serves at the pleasure of the president, others questioned the decision.

"I have long called for a special congressional committee to investigate Russia's interference in the 2016 election," Sen. John McCain said of the move. "The president's decision to remove the FBI director only confirms the need and the urgency for such a committee."

SEE MORE: Russia showcases military might in Red Square parade

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, a Republican from North Carolina, said he was "troubled by the timing and reasoning" of the termination.

FBI directors typically serve 10-year teams. Comey served in his role for three.

https://www.aol.com/article/news/201...erup/22078544/

Trump had every right, cause, basis and authority under the US Constitution to terminate Jim Comey. Jim Comey interfered with the US Primaries, the US General Election, and is now interfering with the proper functioning of the Executive Branch and even the US Congress.

Once the dust settles on the Democrats and those who might have been within the "fear" element of Jim Comey, things will settle down and they'll see that getting rid of this truly weird and crazy person from his role as Director of the FBI was without question, the right thing to do and long over-due.

MAY 9, 2017, 5:33 P.M.

GOP chairman of Senate Intelligence Committee 'troubled by the timing' of Comey's firing

Lisa Mascaro

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Richard Burr
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My statement on the dismissal of FBI Director Comey https://www.burr.senate.gov/press/releases/statement-from-senate-intel-chairman-burr-on-the-dismissal-of-fbi-director-comey …
4:47 PM - 9 May 2017

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A key Republican, Sen. Richard M. Burr, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday he was "troubled by the timing and reasoning" of President Trump's firing of FBI Director James B. Comey.

The statement underscored the growing discomfort in the president's own party about Comey's abrupt dismissal amid the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election and possible coordination with Trump's campaign.

In an unusually forceful statement from the typically genteel North Carolina Republican, Burr said Comey's firing "confuses an already difficult investigation" and is "a loss" for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the nation.

Comey had been scheduled to appear Thursday before the Intelligence Committee during an open session on "worldwide threats."

Here is Burr's full statement:

“I am troubled by the timing and reasoning of Director Comey’s termination. I have found Director Comey to be a public servant of the highest order, and his dismissal further confuses an already difficult investigation by the Committee.

In my interactions with the Director and with the Bureau under his leadership, he and the FBI have always been straightforward with our Committee. Director Comey has been more forthcoming with information than any FBI Director I can recall in my tenure on the congressional intelligence committees. His dismissal, I believe, is a loss for the Bureau and the nation.”

http://www.latimes.com/politics/wash...htmlstory.html

Burr just made a terrible mistake with such a stupid statement. There is nothing "troubling" about why Trump fired Comey. Anyone who watched or listened to any of the last Comey testimony before the Senate Committee where Chuck Grassley said "eegads" in response to Comey's absurdly ridiculous statements, would understand why Comey is gone, and that's before you even take into account all the other ridiculous statements this crazy person has made in public going all the way back to July 2016, whether the comments were about Hillary and her emails, Hillary and the Weiner emails, TIES TO RUSSIA, or anything else.

Comey hurt Bernie Sanders, then Comey hurts Hillary, then Comey hurts Trump. See the pattern? The man is unstable. He can't decide which candidate suits his fancy the most. That is not the role of the Director of the FBI. He spoke about evidence without producing it. He provided personal prosecutorial type opinions when he isn't a prosecutor at the FBI, he's part of a criminal investigation unit that gathers pertinent information. He ordered a FISA warrant on a completely innocent American based on a "dubious dossier" compiled by some ex-British spy who earns a living putting together misinformation campaigns for money and refused to say one way or another whether or not the FBI PAID the ex-British spy for it.

Something is very wrong with Comey, he needed to be removed post haste and Trump made the call. Sure, he'll take a lot of heat over it, he knew that; he'll be accused of a "Nixonian" cover-up, he knew that; he'll be accused of trying to manipulate the investigation on "TIES TO RUSSIA", he knew that. But there is a problem i the FBI that goes far beyond the political interference, manipulation and witch hunts Comey is ordering and approving within the FBI. This is a problem that extends to all types of investigations that peak Comey's interest, it extends to the basic rights of Americans being illegally under surveillance in violation of our rights, it extends to the fundamentals of 4th Amendment protections, it extends to foreign policy, international relations, and the national security of our country upon which those policies and relations are based.

So call it what you want, the bottom-line is: GOOD RIDDANCE.