Second FBI chief to ever be fired

“Given the recent controversies surrounding the director, I believe a fresh start will serve the FBI and the nation well,” said Republican Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, chairman of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee investigating the Russian campaign interference.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said Trump called her Tuesday afternoon to inform her of his decision.

“The next FBI director must be strong and independent and will receive a fair hearing in the Judiciary Committee,” she said in a statement.

Comey, 56, was nominated by President Barack Obama for the FBI post in 2013 to a 10-year term. That appointment does not ensure a director will serve the full 10 years, though Comey is only the second FBI chief to be fired.

Praised by both parties for his independence and integrity, Comey has spent three decades in law enforcement.

But his prominent role in the 2016 presidential campaign raised questions about his judgment and impartiality.

Though the FBI did not recommend charges against Clinton for mishandling classified information, Comey was blisteringly critical of her decision to use a personal email account and private Internet server during her four years as secretary of state.

Clinton has partially blamed her loss on Comey’s disclosure to Congress less than two weeks before Election Day that the email investigation would be revisited.

He later said the FBI, again, had found no reason to bring any charges.

Trump disagreed with her assessment, tweeting that Comey actually “was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds!”

Clinton’s advisers were stunned by Trump’s decision.

Former campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said that while he believed Comey “inflicted severe damage” on the FBI, “the timing and manner of this firing suggest that it is the product of Donald Trump feeling the heat on the ongoing Russia investigation and not a well thought out response to the inappropriate handling of the Clinton investigation.”

THE NEXT FBI DIRECTOR MUST BE STRONG AND INDEPENDENT.