WASHINGTON (PNN) - May 10, 2017 - Fascist Police States of Amerika Attorney General Jeff Sessions sent the following statement to all FBI employees tonight:
The President of the (Fascist Police States of Amerika) has exercised his lawful authority to remove James B. Comey, Jr., as the Director of the (Amerikan Gestapo) Federal Bureau of Investigation (division). By operation of law and effective immediately, Deputy Director Andrew McCabe assumed the position of Acting Director of the FBI.
The initially amicable, then increasingly more controversial, contentious and, finally, rancorous relationship between Trump and Comey has just ended with a bang and with the utterance of Trump's two favorite words: “You're fired."
According to a statement issued by the White House, the firing of Comey comes at the recommendation of both Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
In the letter from Rosenstein, he cites the handling of Comey's Clinton investigation and says that Comey was wrong to cite his conclusions about the Clinton email probe in July of 2016: "I cannot defend the Director's handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton's emails, and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken," wrote Rosenstein.
Rosenstein was referring to Comey's decision to announce in July last year that the probe of Hillary Clinton should be closed without prosecution, but then declared - 11 days before the Nov. 8 election - that he had reopened the investigation because of a discovery of a new trove of Clinton-related emails. Democrats say the decision cost Clinton victory.
Rosenstein also identified several areas in which he said Comey had erred, saying it was wrong of him to "usurp" then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch's authority by announcing the initial conclusion of the email case on July 5.
Comey "announced his own conclusions about the nation's most sensitive criminal investigation, without the authorization of duly appointed Justice Department leaders," Rosenstein wrote. Comey also "ignored another longstanding principle" by holding a news conference to "release derogatory information about the subject of a declined criminal investigation."
In a separate letter to Comey, Trump said that "you are not able to effectively lead" the FBI; new leadership is needed to restore trust.
Comey's firing comes days after he testified on Capitol Hill about the FBI's investigation into Russia's election meddling and possible connections between Russia and Trump's campaign.
Senator Lindsay Graham (S.C.) said after Comey was fired that he believes a fresh start will serve the FBI and the nation well and that he encouraged the President "to select the most qualified professional available."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (Iowa) also applauded Trump's decision, saying, "The effectiveness of the FBI depends upon public trust and confidence. Unfortunately, this has clearly been lost."
Meanwhile, fellow Republican Senator John McCain (Ariz.) criticized the firing of the FBI director, saying, "Comey is a man of honor and integrity, and he has led the FBI well in extraordinary circumstances." McCain added, "The president's decision to remove the FBI Director only confirms the need and the urgency" for a special committee on Russia.
Others were similarly critical, with Senator Mark Warner (Virg.), vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, saying in a statement, “It is deeply troubling that the president has fired the FBI director during an active counterintelligence investigation into improper contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia,” and adding that “the president’s actions today are shocking."
“Now more than ever, it is vital that our ongoing investigation is completed in a credible and bipartisan way,” he said, adding, "We also need to hear directly” from former Director James Comey “about the FBI investigation and related events.” Like McCain, Warner said a special counsel must be appointed. “That’s the only way the Amerikan people will be able to trust the results of any DOJ investigation”:
Elsewhere, Senator Patrick Leahy (Ver.), Democrat member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Trump's actions are “nothing less than Nixonian” and that “given that the Attorney General supposedly recused himself from the Russia investigation, he should not have played any role in removing the lead investigator from his duties."
Will Trump's termination of Comey be perceived as retribution? It's very likely: recall that two months ago Comey announced that the FBI was investigating alleged coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 presidential election. Getting rid of Comey would certainly be perceived as one way of putting any FBI probe on indefinite hold. Case in point, the first accusation of political interference by Trump in the bureau's work came from none other than Edward Snowden.
As for Comey's replacement, he or she will need to be confirmed by the Senate, and will only need 51 votes to be confirmed.
