Trump Fires FBI Director

On May 9, President Trump fired James B. Comey, the director of the FBI. Comey was in his fourth year of a ten-year term as director, and is only the second director to be fired in the history of the FBI. Now, Republicans and Democrats alike are struggling to get a handle on how to approach this unexpected turn of events.

Why Was Comey Fired?

The reason Trump gave for firing Comey was that the FBI director had mishandled the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s emails during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump once praised Comey for how well he had handled the email investigation. Some critics of this decision also ask why Trump waited four months to fire him instead of doing it immediately after taking office in January.

Though many Democrats initially wanted to see Comey fired for his actions regarding Hillary Clinton’s email handling prior to the election, many of Trump’s political opponents are now raising questions about the president’s decision to do just that. Newly reported evidence claims that at a dinner a week after the election, President Trump asked Comey to pledge his loyalty. FBI agents are supposed to remain independent, and not get involved in political actions–as a general rule. The reported evidence says that Comey refused, though he stated that he would always be honest with President Trump. The White House denies that this conversation ever took place.

What About the Russia Investigation?

The most troubling aspect of Comey’s dismissal is that, at the time of his firing, he was ultimately responsible for the investigation into the question of Russian tampering in the 2016 presidential election. So far, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn (whom President Trump also fired) is already under investigation for his ties to Russia.

Now, many Republican representatives have joined their Democratic counterparts to demand that an independent counsel be appointed to investigate any Trump administration official’s possible ties to or interactions with Russia that might be questionable.

What’s Next?

Three days after he fired Comey, Trump tweeted that if Comey released any more negative news about him, then Comey had better hope that no tapes existed of their conversations. Democrats on the judiciary and oversight committees immediately sent a letter to the White House demanding any such recordings if they exist. White House representatives refused to either confirm or deny the presence of such tapes.

Andrew G. McCabe, Comey’s former deputy, will now become acting director of the FBI. Meanwhile, the White House will immediately begin the search for a new permanent director.

Dig Deeper A president has fired an FBI director only one other time in history. Use internet resources to research what happened. Who was the president? Who was the FBI director? Why was he or she fired? What similarities and differences can you list between that case, and Trump’s dismissal of Comey last week? Write a short paragraph describing what you find.