![](\"https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/03\/gettyimages-655589208.jpg?w=738\")
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President Donald Trump has fired FBI Director James Comey.<\/p>\n
In his letter to Comey, Trump said the move was recommended by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile 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,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
The White House says the firing is effective immediately, and that it\u2019s already searching for a new FBI director.<\/p>\n
A longer memo from Rosenstein (who, like Sessions, was nominated for his current role by Trump) criticizes Comey\u2019s handling of the investigation of Hillary Clinton\u2019s emails while she was Secretary of State \u2014 specifically, Comey\u2019s\u00a0decision to hold a press conference where he\u00a0said he would not be recommending charges against Clinton<\/a>. Instead, Rosenstein said\u00a0Comey should have presented his findings to federal prosecutors and let them make the decision. (Attorney General Loretta Lynch had previously said that in order to avoid questions of conflict of interest, she would accept the FBI\u2019s recommendations<\/a>.)<\/p>\n \u201cThe way the Director handled the conclusion of the email investigation was wrong,\u201d Rosenstein wrote. \u201cAs 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 to never repeat them.\u201d<\/p>\n Regarding Comey\u2019s October announcement that the FBI had found new emails related to the Clinton investigation, an announcement that\u2019s widely believed to have contributed to (or even been the deciding factor in<\/a>) Trump\u2019s victory, Rosenstein criticized Comey for casting the decision as a question of whether he would \u201cconceal\u201d the investigation.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen federal agents and prosecutors quietly open a criminal investigation, we are not concealing anything; we are simply following the longstanding policy that we refrain from publicizing non-public information,\u201d Rosenstein wrote. \u201cIn that context, silence is not concealment.\u201d<\/p>\n Neither Trump\u2019s letter nor Rosenstein\u2019s memo mentions the FBI investigation<\/a> into possible links between the Russia government and the Trump campaign.<\/p>\n Not surprisingly, the firing has already drawn criticism.<\/p>\n \u201cI have been long been a critic of Director Comey, for his views about surveillance and torture, his stance on secret law and his conduct during the investigation into Secretary Clinton,\u201d said Oregon Senator Ron Wyden (a Democrat) in a statement. \u201cBut Donald Trump\u2019s decision to fire him now, in the midst of an investigation into Trump associates and their ties to Russia, is outrageous. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n A US president has only fired the FBI director once before<\/a> \u2014 when President Bill Clinton fired William Sessions in 1993.<\/p>\n Trump fires FBI Dir. James Comey<\/a> by Jordan Crook<\/a> on Scribd<\/p>\n Featured Image: Drew Angerer\/Getty Images<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/03\/gettyimages-655589208.jpg?w=680\")
President Donald Trump has fired FBI Director James Comey. In his letter to Comey, Trump said the move was recommended by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. “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… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/img><\/a>
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