Comey had drawn wrath of both sides

Richard Nixon’s decision in 1973 to remove the Watergate special prosecutor.

And Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Trump’s decision to fire the man overseeing a federal investigation into his campaign associates’ collusion with Russia “raises profound questions about whether the White House is brazenly interfering in a criminal matter.”

Schiff, whose panel is conducting a separate investigation into Russia’s influence on the presidential election, called for an independent prosecutor “to restore a modicum of public confidence — now completely lacking — that the criminal investigation will continue without further interference by the White House.”

In his termination letter, Trump referred to the FBI’s ongoing investigation, telling Comey he appreciated him “informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation.”

Still, the concern about the timing of Comey’s firing was not limited to Democrats.

Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., who is leading the Senate panel’s investigation into Russia’s election interference, said he was “troubled” by both the timing and reasons for Comey’s dismissal. “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,” Burr said. “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,” he continued. “His dismissal, I believe, is a loss for the bureau and the nation.”

A career prosecutor, Comey, held top Justice Department posts in the George W. Bush administration before being appointed FBI director by President Barack Obama in 2013.

He is only the second director fired in the 82-year history of the FBI. President Bill Clinton fired FBI Director William Sessions in 1993 amid ethics problems. While FBI directors are appointed to 10- year terms in order to make them nominally non-partisan, they can still be fired by the president.

As news of Comey’s dismissal raced through Washington on Tuesday night, Republicans defended the move as difficult but necessary.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Comey’s “decisions on controversial matters have prompted concern from across the political spectrum and from career law enforcement experts.”

Meanwhile, Comey was apparently finding out his own employment status in an unconventional way.

Comey left Washington earlier Tuesday for a speaking engagement, and was not informed of his firing until he saw news reports of it on television while at the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, a person familiar with the matter said.

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

Notably, some of the same Democrats upset about Comey’s firing have also previously called for his head, blaming Clinton’s loss of the presidency on Comey’s unexpected public announcement on Oct. 28 that he was reopening the investigation into her emails.

Rosenstein, confirmed by the Senate two weeks ago as Comey’s day-to-day supervisor, also faulted Comey for announcing he had reopened the case 11 days before the election — and for his earlier July 5 news conference saying no charges would be filed against Clinton.

In a memo to the attorney general, Rosenstein said he did not understand Comey’s refusal to acknowledge fault with his actions.

“Almost everyone agrees that the director made serious mistakes; it is one of the few issues that unites people of different perspectives,” Rosenstein wrote.

“I’m not shedding any tears for Comey personally ... but I do worry whether we ever get to the bottom of Russia now.” Brian Fallon, former spokesman for the Obama Justice Department