President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey yesterday, effective immediately. Comey is currently head of an ongoing FBI investigation into claims that Trump’s presidential campaign had communication with Russian officials leading up to the 2016 presidential election. The White House did not mention anything about the current investigation amidst Comey’s dismissal.
“Director Comey should be immediately called to testify in an open hearing about the status of the investigation into Russia and Trump associates at the time he was fired,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) in a statement. “There can be no question that a fully independent special counsel must be appointed to lead this investigation. At this point, no one in Trump’s chain of command can be trusted to carry out an impartial investigation.”
Press Secretary Sean Spicer claims Comey was terminated at the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who believes Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation shows he is unfit to lead the FBI.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein echoes this sentiment, stating Comey is “an articulate and persuasive public speaker about leadership” but that he “cannot defend the Director’s handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton’s emails, and [does not] understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken.” This raises numerous questions about the administration’s motives, as it seems odd the Trump administration would try to defend Hillary Clinton.
The U.S. has been in an uproar over Comey’s termination. The ACLU has condemned Trump’s actions saying firing Comey “raises serious alarm bells for our system of checks and balances.”
The @aclu condemns @realDonaldTrump‘s firing of FBI director James Comey https://t.co/2wCMLmxNsw pic.twitter.com/GnSO6nByaW
— Militia Etheridge (@MaryEmilyOHara) May 9, 2017
Democrats are currently calling for a special prosecutor to lead up the Russia investigation and are demanding a better understanding as to why Comey has been fired.
Special prosecutor is “only way to go to restore American people’s faith,” Schumer says. “Are people going to suspect cover-up? Absolutely.” pic.twitter.com/rCo6urJMdi
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 9, 2017
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