Tuesday May 9, 2017
Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump on Tuesday fired FBI Director James Comey.
In
a signed letter, Trump informed Comey that he was "hereby terminated
and removed from office, effective immediately," explaining that he
reached the conclusion that Comey is "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 told Comey in
the letter. "I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors."
advertisements
White
House press secretary Sean Spicer said shortly before 6 p.m. ET on
Tuesday that Comey was "notified a short time ago," but declined to say
how Comey was notified. Comey's dismissal took effect immediately.Spicer told reporters that Trump
"accepted the recommendation of the deputy attorney general and the
attorney general," who both recommended Comey's "dismissal."
Deputy
Attorney General Rod Rosenstein made the case for Comey's dismissal in a
memorandum to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who agreed with the
recommendation and passed it along to Trump.
At
the center of Rosenstein's rationale for recommending Comey's firing
was Comey's handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a
private email server, namely his decision to recommend no charges be
filed and the news conference he held to explain his reasoning.
Rosenstein
accused Comey of attempting to "usurp the attorney general's authority"
by publicly announcing why he felt the case should be closed without
prosecution.
"Compounding the
error, the director ignored another longstanding principle: We do not
hold press conferences to release derogatory information about the
subject of a declined criminal investigation," Rosenstein argued in his
memo.
"We should reject the
departure and return to the traditions (of the bureau)," Rosenstein
said. "The way the director handled the conclusion of the email
investigation was wrong. As a result, the FBI is unlikely to regain
public and congressional trust until it has a director who understands
the gravity of the mistakes and pledges never to repeat them."
The White House said it will immediately launch the search for a new FBI director.
A
senior administration official said most White House officials were not
apprised of Comey's firing throughout the day, including fairly senior
advisers.
But this seems to be among the leading reasons why Trump's schedule was all but empty Monday and Tuesday.
The
President started calling key congressional leaders late today -- key
senators and others -- but it was kept quiet until then.
Comey was appointed FBI director by President Barack Obama in 2013.
In
so doing, he elevated a Republican law enforcement veteran who had been
critical of the Justice Department under former President George W.
Bush to the top domestic investigative and surveillance organization,
among the most powerful posts in the world.
In
the decades since former FBI Director J Edgar Hoover, the controversial
director who brought FBI into the modern era, law enforcement has
avoided the appearance of influencing politics the way Hoover did.
But
Comey's decision to thrust himself repeatedly into the 2016 election,
put him at odds with the FBI's general decision to stay away from the
political spotlight.
Comey made the
decision in July to go public with his recommendation that the Justice
Department not pursue any charges against Clinton or her former staffers
over her email practices as secretary of state. However, he also took
the opportunity to rebuke Clinton at length as being "extremely
careless" with sensitive information.
Then-candidate
Trump had talked up the investigation until this point, at which time
he and his campaign derided Comey for the "political" decision.
Just
days away from the election, Comey jumped into the race again. He
informed Congress, via letter, that the FBI had re-opened its
investigation into Clinton. The decision was made because of its
investigation into former Rep. Anthony Weiner, who is married to Clinton
confidant Huma Abedin. Comey followed up days later with another
letter, informing Congress that the FBI didn't find anything and
continued to believe Clinton's practices did not merit the pursuance of
any criminal charges.
After Clinton's loss, former President Bill Clinton blamed Comey for it, as have many Clinton staffers, at least in part.
Over
the last few months there has been tension between Justice Department
leadership and senior staff of FBI regarding the handling of the Clinton
investigation and how Comey was running the agency, according to
multiple officials.
One Justice Department official suggested there could be more changes coming at the FBI.
"There is a lot of cleaning house that needs to be done," one official said.