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FBI Director James Comey testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Comey has been fired by US President Donald J. Trump on May 9, 2017. Photo: EPA

Trump fires FBI chief James Comey, in stunning manoeuvre amid Russia investigation

Comey is fired for ‘usurping’ the Justice Department, by announcing last year that Hillary Clinton should not be prosecuted over her email practices

Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump has fired FBI Director James Comey, who had been investigating connections between Trump associates and Russia.

The White House said Trump fired Comey on the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

In a memorandum released on Tuesday, Rosenstein recommended Comey’s removal because of his announcement last July that Trump’s election rival Hillary Clinton should not be prosecuted over her email practices. Comey’s announcement had improperly usurped the Justice Department’s authority over the matter, Rosenstein said.

In a subsequent letter to Comey on Tuesday, Trump informed him that he had been “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 judgement of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the bureau,” Trump wrote.

A combination of photos shows ousted FBI director James Comey (left) and US President Donald Trump. On Tuesday, Trump fired Comey, who had been investigating Trump’s administration over its alleged ties with Moscow. Photos: Reuters

Comey had been leading an investigation into possible links between people connected to Trump and Russian operatives before and after the US presidential election. The FBI and the CIA determined after the election that Russia intervened with the intent of swaying November’s vote in Trump’s favour.

But that investigation was not mentioned in Rosenstein’s letter to Trump.

No one should accept President Trump’s absurd justification... This is nothing less than Nixonian
Senator Patrick Leahy

“The Director was wrong to usurp the Attorney General’s authority on July 5, 2016, and announce his conclusion that the [Clinton email] case should be closed without prosecution,” Rosenstein said in his memo. “It is not the function of the Director to make such an announcement. At most, the Director should have said the FBI had completed its investigation and presented its findings to federal prosecutors.”

Comey concluded in 2016 that Clinton hadn’t broken any laws when, in her role as Secretary of State, she used her family’s private email server for official communications, rather than the official State Department servers, which would have archived her emails.

Sessions succeeded former acting US attorney general Sally Yates, whom Trump also fired in January, for refusing to enforce an executive order on immigration and refugees.

Yates appeared before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee in Washington on Monday, during which she testified that she warned White House officials that Trump’s then national security adviser Michael Flynn had lied about how much contact he’d had with Russian officials. Trump didn’t take any action against Flynn until 18 days later, after The Washington Post made Yates’ warning public.

US intelligence officials tracked conversations between Flynn and Russian ambassador to the United States Sergey I. Kislyak about sanctions that then president Barack Obama had put in place against Russia, in response to evidence of Moscow’s interference in the US presidential election.

“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,” Trump said, according to the White House’s announcement of Comey’s dismissal.

“A search for a new permanent FBI Director will begin immediately,” according to the statement.

On Monday, Trump had tweeted that the suggestion of “Trump-Russia collusion” was a “total hoax”, and branded the investigation into it a “charade”.

Comey is the third high-level justice official to be fired by Trump since he assumed office in January.

In March, Trump fired Preet Bharara as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Comey is not currently in Washington. According to CNN and the event promotional site Eventbrite, Comey had been scheduled to attend an FBI recruiting event on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

Democrats quickly described Trump’s dismissal of Comey as “Nixonian” and pushed for immediate hearings on the firing, while some Republicans insisted it is the president’s prerogative to hire and fire the nation’s top law enforcement officer.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer said he told Trump he was making a “very big mistake.”

“Were these investigations getting too close to home for the president?” Schumer asked. “They fired Director Comey, the very man leading the investigation. … This does not seem to be a coincidence.”

Schumer and other Democrats said the Justice Department should now appoint an independent special prosecutor for the Russia probe.

Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy said in a statement: “No one should accept President Trump’s absurd justification that he is now concerned that FBI Director Comey treated Secretary Clinton unfairly... This is nothing less than Nixonian.”

Lawmakers in the House and Senate called for immediate hearings in Congress over Comey’s dismissal.

“Trump’s decision to fire him now, in the midst of an investigation into Trump associates and their ties to Russia, is outrageous,” said Democrat Senator Ron Wyden. “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.”

Republican Senator John McCain also tweeted his concern: “Removal of Director Comey only confirms need for select (committee) to investigate.”

But Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said a “fresh start” at the Federal Bureau of Investigation will be welcome.

“I know this was a difficult decision for all concerned,” Graham said. “Given the recent controversies surrounding the director, I believe a fresh start will serve the FBI and the nation well.”

Additional reporting by Zhenhua Lu and Associated Pres

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