President Trump has fired FBI Director James Comey in a move that has shocked the nation and the political world. Director Comey who had become a controversial figure within the short course of his career had managed to alienate himself from both sides of the political aisle.
President Trump said the abrupt firing of Comey was necessary in order to return and restore the credibility of the Bureau which it had lost during his tenure as Chief Investigator of the nation.
“Today will mark a new beginning,” read the statement from the White House.
“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 in a letter to Comey released by the White House.
There had been criticism of now former FBI Director from both sides of the political divide and it was only a matter of time before this happened.
James Comey is the second FBI Director to be fired in the history of the Bureau after a controversial tenure that had alienated him from both sides of the political aisle. May 9, 2017.
The dismissal has sent reverberations and shock within the press corp., the political world, general public, the FBI and the FBI Director himself.
There was a crisis in the leadership of James Comey that had caused a lot of disrepute to the Agency. The FBI had become so divided and polarized under his leadership.
Attorney General Jeff Session indicated in a letter that “you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau” as another basis for his dismissal.
“He lacks the confidence needed to carry out his responsibilities” said Senator Grassley.
The White House released a memo by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on Comey’s actions said the following,
“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 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,” wrote Rosenstein.
Comey also “ignored another longstanding principle” by holding a news conference to “release derogatory information about the subject of a declined criminal investigation.”
President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in an abrupt move that has rocked the entire nation. Comey was appointed by Barack Obama in 2013 for a 10 year tenure which ended abruptly on 9 May 2017. Credit: GETTY Images
During the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last Wednesday, Director Comey commented that it made him “mildly nauseous” to think his announcement of the reopening of an investigation into Clinton’s emails affected the 2016 Presidential Election, but he had no regrets and would make the same decision again.
Director Comey often responded to critics regarding his being alienated from both sides of the political aisle as an indication that he was doing his work effectively.
Senior FBI officials who were also taken by surprise said there had been no indication during the day of an impending dismissal of their boss as the top Chief Investigator in the nation.
The abrupt dismissal came as a shock to Director James Comey as it did to the entire political and media world.
A written letter sent to fire him indicate that Comey had usurped Loretta Lynch’s position when she met with Bill Clinton on the tarmac, a major violation of his responsibilities and oath as Chief Investigator not Prosecutor.
James Comey was nominated by Barack Obama as the Director of the FBI in 2013 for a 10 year tenure which was abruptly ended by this dismissal. He has served in both Republican and Democratic administrations.
The wind is behind President Trump’s back in getting rid of James Comey as Director of the FBI with the the public fully on his side.
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