FBI director fired amid Russia probe
Critics ‘troubled’ by timing of dismissal
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s stunning firing of FBI Director James Comey throws into question the future of a counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible connections to Russia and immediately raised suspicions of an underhanded effort to stymie a probe that has shadowed the administration from the outset.
Democrats likened Tuesday’s ouster to Richard Nixon’s “Saturday Night Massacre” and renewed calls for the appointment of a special prosecutor. Some Republicans also questioned the move.
In his letter to Mr Comey, Mr Trump said the firing was necessary to restore “public trust and confidence” in the FBI. The administration paired the letter with a scathing review by Deputy AttorneyGeneral Rod Rosenstein of how Mr Comey handled the investigation into Democrat Hillary Clinton’s email practices, including his decision to hold a news conference announcing its findings and releasing “derogatory information” about Ms Clinton.
While Mr Comey has drawn anger from Democrats since he reopened the email investigation in the closing days of last year’s campaign, they didn’t buy that justification for his firing on Tuesday. Several Republicans joined them in raising alarms of how it could affect probes into possible coordination between Trump associates and Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Mr Trump will now appoint a successor at the FBI, which has been investigating since late July, and who will almost certainly have an impact on how the investigation moves forward and whether the public will accept its outcome.
“I am troubled by the timing and reasoning of Director Comey’s termination,” Senator Richard Burr said in one of the strongest statements from a Republican. As chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, Mr Burr is leading one of the three congressional investigations and has been in regular contact with Mr Comey.
The firing renewed longstanding demands by Democrats for a special prosecutor, especially since the White House has said the firing of Mr Comey was carried out upon the recommendation of senior Justice Department leadership, including Mr Rosenstein, who is overseeing the Russia investigation since attorney-general Jeff Sessions recused himself because of previously unreported contacts with the Russian ambassador.
It was only the second firing of an FBI director in history. Then-president Bill Clinton dismissed William Sessions amid allegations of ethical lapses in 1993.
Democrats compared the ouster to Nixon’s decision to fire the independent special prosecutor overseeing the Watergate investigation in 1973, which prompted the resignations of the Justice Department’s top two officials.
Mr Comey was speaking to agents at the FBI’s field office in Los Angeles when the news broke. Television screens in the office began flashing the news, and Mr Comey initially chuckled, according to a law enforcement official who was present and spoke on condition of anonymity. He finished his speech before heading into an office and did not reappear in the main room. He later left Los Angeles on a plane to return to Washington.
Mr Comey’s firing was the latest and most significant White House-driven distraction from the Russia investigations, which Mr Trump has ridiculed and dismissed as a “hoax”. He has denied that his campaign was involved in Russia’s election meddling.
In his brief letter to Mr Comey, Mr Trump thanked him for telling him three times “that I am not under investigation”. The FBI has not confirmed that Mr Comey ever made those assurances to the president. In public hearings, Mr Comey has declined to answer when asked if Mr Trump is under investigation, urging lawmakers not to read anything into that statement.
Mr Comey, 56, was nominated by previous president Barack Obama for the FBI post in 2013 to a 10-year term, though that appointment does not ensure a director will serve the full stint.
Praised by both parties for his independence and integrity, he spent three decades in law enforcement. Before the recent controversies, the former deputy attorney-general in the George W Bush administration was best known for a 2004 standoff with top officials over a federal domestic surveillance programme. Mr Comey rushed to the hospital bed of attorney-general John Ashcroft to physically stop White House officials in their bid to get his ailing boss to reauthorise a secret no-warrant wiretapping programme.
But his prominent role in the 2016 presidential campaign raised questions about his judgement and impartiality. Though the FBI did not recommend charges against Clinton for mishandling classified information, Mr 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.
Mr Comey strongly defended his decisions during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week. He said he was “mildly nauseous” at the thought of having swayed the election but also said he would do the same again.
Ms Clinton has partially blamed her defeat on Mr Comey’s disclosure to Congress less than two weeks before election day that the email investigation would be revisited. Mr Comey later said the FBI, again, had found no reason to bring any charges.
Ms Clinton’s advisers were stunned by Mr Trump’s decision on Tuesday. Former campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said that while he believed Mr Comey had “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”.