Comey bids farewell but questions remain
AN emotional James Comey yesterday expressed his “sadness” at his stunning sacking as FBI boss, amid revelations that he had sought further resources to investigate President Donald Trump’s election campaign links to Russia.
As Mr Comey circulated his thoughts in a letter to shocked former staff and friends, Mr Trump was, pointedly, meeting Russia’s long-serving Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the White House.
In his note to FBI staff and friends, Mr Comey said he was “sad” to be leaving the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but declined to lash out at the administration.
“I have long believed that a President can fire an FBI Director for any reason, or for no reason at all,” he wrote.
“I’m not going to spend time on the decision or the way it was executed.
“I hope you won’t either. It is done and I will be fine.”
Yesterday, Congressional sources said Mr Comey had asked for more resources to pursue his investigation into Russia’s election meddling and the possible involvement of Mr Trump’s associates, fuelling concerns that Mr Trump was trying to undermine a probe that could threaten his presidency.
It was unclear whether word of Mr Comey’s request, put to Deputy Attorney-General Rod Rosenstein, ever made its way to Mr Trump.
But the revelation intensified the pressure on the White House from both political parties to explain the motives behind the shock ousting.
Mr Trump is the first president since Richard Nixon to fire a law enforcement official overseeing an investigation with ties to the White House.
Republican leaders suggested Mr Trump was persuaded to take the step by Justice Department officials and a scathing memo, written by Mr Rosenstein, criticising Mr Comey’s role in the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails.
“Frankly, he’d been considering letting Director Comey go since the day he was elected,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, a sharply different explanation from the day before, when officials put the emphasis on new Justice complaints about Mr Comey.
Mr Trump’s daring decision to oust Mr Comey sparked comparisons with Mr Nixon, who fired the special prosecutor running the Watergate investigation that ultimately led to his downfall.
And Mr Trump’s action left the fate of the Russia probe deeply uncertain.