Trump sacks Federal Bureau of Investigation director Comey

Often lauded for his independence, Comey had come under intense scrutiny in recent months for his role in the agency's investigation into the email practices of Trump's opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, including a pair of letters he sent to Congress on the matter in the final days of last November's election.

Republicans, many of whom have fallen into line behind Trump after initial reluctance, also sought to distance themselves from the president.

On its own, US President Donald Trump's letter dumping Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey is curious. And the person Trump appoints will likely have a huge impact on how the investigation moves forward and whether the public will accept its outcome. Sessions will probably name an interim director soon while the search for a permanent replacement continues.

Comey had recently been blamed by Hillary Clinton as being one of the reasons behind her loss to Trump in the U.S. presidential election. "I'm around the president, I'm not under investigation".

"Whatever the merits of Director Comey's decisions, the investigated has just fired the investigator", Himes said.

Comey said last week at a Senate hearing that he was pained and "mildly nauseous" over the thought that his actions might have affected the presidential election.

That is needed to "protect the integrity" of the investigation, the Democrats wrote.

However, the actual reason behind Comey's firing could be the spectre of Russian ties that has been haunting Trump for quite some time.

He gives a detailed account of what he sees as Comey's missteps and breaks with the "fundamental principles" and "traditions" of the FBI in the Clinton email investigation. Richard Burr, R-N.C. said in one of the strongest statements from a Republican. "If he's gone, who is going to investigate Russia's ties to - oh!"

Schumer has called for a special prosecutor to investigate potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian Federation. Cooper asked Conway. "Why now are you concerned about the Hillary Clinton email investigation when as a candidate, Trump was praising it from the campaign trail?"

The FBI has not confirmed that Comey ever made those assurances to Trump. That impossibility is inherent to the nature of the acts themselves; when the president quashes independent investigations, it quashes the evidence that would confirm his motive for doing so.

Trump said, Comey was no longer effectively able to lead the bureau and it was necessary to restore public trust and confidence in it.

The Democrats will bark, but as it stands now, they are barking at shadows. "It was spy versus spy", Montoya said. He said there would be no question about the current investigation continuing if not for the political implications.

January 22, 2017: Two days after taking office, Trump appears to single out Comey at a White House reception to thank law enforcement officers and others that helped during the inauguration.

"The need for a special prosecutor is now crystal clear", said Sen.

"This is a deeply troubling development for our system of checks and balances and the rule of law", Brian said in a statement.

You know, we said Trump was an African dictator.

In that post, Comey burnished his reputation as an honest broker willing to stand up to power - even at the risk of his own job.