Trump fires FBI Director Comey

PanARMENIAN.Net - US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, May 9 fired his FBI director James Comey, the man who leads the agency charged with investigating his campaign's ties with Russia -- a move that sent shockwaves through Washington, AFP reports.

The surprise dismissal of Comey, who played a controversial role in last year's presidential election, came as he was leading a probe into whether Trump's aides colluded with Moscow to sway the November vote.

Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said he told Trump he was making a "big mistake" by dismissing Comey, a move that prompted parallels with a decision by a crisis-plagued Richard Nixon to fire his attorney general.

Trump "has accepted the recommendation of the attorney general and the deputy attorney general regarding the dismissal of the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation," his spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters.

A search for a new FBI director was to begin "immediately," the White House said.

In a letter, Trump told Comey: "You are hereby terminated and removed from office, effective immediately."

"While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau."

"It is essential that we find new leadership for the FBI that restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission," Trump said.

The stated reason for Comey's dismissal -- according to a memo from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that was circulated by the White House -- was for mishandling the probe into Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's emails.

But his sacking raised immediate questions about Trump's motives.

FBI directors are appointed for a single 10-year term. The 56-year-old Comey, who is popular among rank-and-file agents, was appointed four years ago.

He played an outsized -- and controversial -- role on the American political stage over the past year, lobbing one bombshell after another that rankled both parties in Washington.

Clinton accused Comey of trashing her chances of becoming president by revealing an renewed investigation into her email use.

Comey told lawmakers last week he felt "mildly nauseous" at the thought that he had swayed the election -- but could not have acted any other way.