By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
President Donald Trump gave FBI Director James Comey the ax on Tuesday.
While it was clear that the two never had a love affair, the firing still came as a surprise.
“The president has accepted the recommendation of the Attorney General and the deputy Attorney General regarding the dismissal of the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters in the briefing room.
Trump, acting at the recommendation of senior Justice Department officials, said Comey had treated Hillary Clinton unfairly and in doing so damaged the credibility of the FBI and the Justice Department, the Washington Post reports.
Interestingly, that reasoning seems to go contrary to Trump’s sentiments. He publicly expressed concern that the FBI had let Clinton off easy.
The firing comes as Comey was leading a probe to determine whether Trump’s people coordinated with Russia to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
Spicer said Comey had was notified and the firing was effective immediately.
But the LA Times reported that Comey learned of the firing from a TV news report while speaking to agents in Los Angeles.
It was known in FBI circles that Comey was no big fan of Trump. And Trump seemed to convey an ambivalence about Comey, and had publicly said that he felt the director let Hillary Clinton off the hook too easy.
It may have come to this at some point anyways.
Trump expected blind loyalty, and as a director of the FBI, such loyalty isn’t possible, that is unless a director is willing to compromise integrity.
The next director will face similar challenges.
Trumps letter to Comey stated:
Dear Director Comey:
I have received the attached letters from the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General of the United States recommending your dismissal as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I have accepted their recommendation and you are hereby terminated and removed from office, effective immediately.
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. It is essential that we find new leadership for the FBI that restores the public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission.
I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. Donald J. Trump
Preview all documents released by the White House relating to Comey’s firing below:
Thomas O’Connor, president of the FBI Agents Association, issued a statement:
A change in FBI leadership of this magnitude must be handled carefully and with an eye towards ensuring that the Bureau can continue to fulfill its responsibility to protect the American public from criminal and national security threats.
We greatly appreciate Director Comey’s service, leadership, and support for Special Agents during his tenure. He understood the centrality of the Agent to the Bureau’s mission, recognizing that Agents put their lives on the line every day. His focus was to ensure that the Bureau’s investigations complied with the law and the Constitution, and that Agents performed their mission with integrity and professionalism.
As vital stakeholders, FBI Agents should be given a voice in the process of selecting the next Director.”
