US President cites James Comey's handling of probe on Clinton email case as reason

  WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has fired Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director James Comey for his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of her personal email account for official communication when she was still secretary of state. Comey, who was appointed to the post by Barack Obama in 2013, learned about his termination from televisions tuned to the news as he was addressing enployees of the FBI office in Los Angeles, according to a law enforcement source. The source said Comey immediately called his office to get confirmation. The dismissal of Comey effectively stops the bureau's ongoing investigation into whether members of Trump's campaign team allegedly colluded with Russia in its alleged meddling in the US elections last year. Comey's termination came as a shock to many in Washington who knew Comey as non-partisan as any US official could ever be. Even if he was an Obama appointee, Comey reopened an inquiry into the Clinton personal email issue 11 days before the November 8 elections. Obama backed Clinton's presidential bid. Democrats however believe that Comey was dismissed because he was "getting too close to the White House" in relation to the investigation into Russia's alleged meddling and not because of the way he handled the inquiry into the Clinton email issue. The White House released copies of a letter sent to Comey informing him of his dismissal. The letter from Trump informed Comey that the latter was "hereby terminated and removed from office, effective immediately" because he is "not able to effectively lead the bureau." "It is essential that we find new leadership for the FBI that restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors," Trump's letter said. Comey had announced in a press conference that the email case should be dropped and that there should be no charges filed against Clinton. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein criticized Comey of "usurping the attorney general's authority" with the announcement. "Compounding the error, the director ignored another longstanding principle: We do not hold press conferences to release derogatory information about the subject of a declined criminal investigation," Rosenstein said. "We should reject the departure and return to the traditions (of the bureau). The way the director handled the conclusion of the email investigation was wrong. As 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 never to repeat them," he also said. Reactions from the US Congress on Comey's firing came swift. Democrats said Trump made a big mistake by dismissing the FBI director as it would cast doubt on the motive behind the move while Republicans expressed concern and "disquiet", according to a CNN report. 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