FBI director fired by Donald Trump

International Desk: US President Donald Trump has abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey in the fallout over Comey's probe of Democrat Hillary Clinton's emails last year, saying Comey was no longer able to effectively lead the law enforcement agency.

Comey had been leading an FBI investigation into allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and possible collusion with Trump's campaign. His dismissal on Tuesday will likely fuel concerns about the integrity of the probe and renew calls for an independent investigation.

The FBI director had been embroiled in a controversy surrounding his probe into whether Clinton's use of a private email server while US secretary of state during President Barack Obama's first term compromised national security.

"It is essential that we find new leadership for the FBI that restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission," Trump said in a letter to Comey released by the White House.

Trump told Comey in the letter he accepted the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions that he could no longer provide effective leadership. Comey's term was to run through September 2023.

The decision, announced by White House press secretary Sean Spicer in a brief appearance before reporters, caught Washington off guard.

Comey had said in July the Clinton email case should be closed without prosecution, but then declared - 11 days before the November 8 election in which Clinton was the Democratic nominee - that he had reopened the investigation because of a discovery of a new trove of Clinton-related emails.

Clinton said last week that she partly blames Comey's decision for her election loss.

The White House released a memo by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that provided the administration's justification for firing Comey.

"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," Rosenstein wrote.

Top US Democrat Chuck Schumer said firing Comey was "a big mistake", and questioned the timing of the move.

"We know the FBI has been looking into whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians," he said.

Source: Agencies



Risingbd/May 10, 2017/ Mukul