Chaos In Washington Following Trump’s Removal Of FBI Director James Comey

May 11th, 2017

Awake Goy

FBI Director James Comey pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, March 20, 2017, before the House Intelligence Committee hearing on allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

Update : AG Jeff Sessions sent the following statement to all FBI employees:

The President of the United States has exercised his lawful authority to remove James B. Comey, Jr., as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. By operation of law and effective immediately, Deputy of law and effective immediately, Deputy Director Andrew McCabe assumed the position of Acting Director of the FBI.

As you well know, the FBI is an exceptional law enforcement and intelligence agency. It is made so by you, the devoted men and women who work tirelessly to keep our country safe. Thank you for your steadfast dedication and commitment during this time of transition.

The initially amicable, then increasingly more controversial, contentious and, finally, rancorous relationship between President Donald Trump and FBI Director James Comey has just ended with a bang and with the utterance of Trump’s two favorite words: ‘You’re fired.”

According to a statement issued by the White House, the firing of Comey comes at the recommendation of both Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Below is the full statement from the White House:

Today, President Donald J. Trump informed FBI Director James Comey that he has been terminated and removed from office. President Trump acted based on the clear recommendations of both Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

“The FBI is one of our Nation’s most cherished and respected institutions and today will mark a new beginning for our crown jewel of law enforcement,” said President Trump.

A search for a new permanent FBI Director will begin immediately.

Below is the letter from Sessions to Trump recommending Comey’s termination.

In the letter from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, he cites the handling of Comey’s Clinton investigation, and says that Comey was wrong to cite his conclusions about the Clinton email probe in July of 2016: “I cannot defend the Director’s handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton’s emails, and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken,” Rosenstein wrote.

Rosenstein was referring to Comey’s decision to announce in July last year that the probe of Hillary Clinton should be closed without prosecution but then declared – 11 days before the Nov. 8 election – that he had reopened the investigation because of a discovery of a new trove of Clinton-related emails. Democrats say the decision cost Clinton victory.

Rosenstein also identified several areas in which he said Comey had erred, saying it was wrong of him to “usurp” then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s authority by announcing the initial conclusion of the email case on July 5.

Comey “announced his own conclusions about the nation’s most sensitive criminal investigation, without the authorization of duly appointed Justice Department leaders,” Rosenstein wrote. Comey also “ignored another longstanding principle” by holding a news conference to “release derogatory information about the subject of a declined criminal investigation.”

In a separate letter to Comey, Trump said that “you are not able to effectively lead” the FBI, new leadership is needed to restore trust.

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