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| James Comey fired: calls for special prosecutor after Trump sacks FBI director – live updates | James Comey fired: calls for special prosecutor after Trump sacks FBI director – live updates |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 6.01am BST | |
| 06:01 | |
| What we know so far | |
| FBI director James Comey has been fired by Donald Trump, who said in a letter that he was being “terminated and removed” because he was “not able to effectively lead the bureau”. | |
| The sacking came after attorney general Jeff Sessions and deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein recommended to Trump that he be removed over his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation. | |
| However, critics believe the dismissal is more closely linked to Comey’s role in investigating Trump’s allies over alleged links to Russian interference in the 2016 election. | |
| Comey reportedly found out he had been fired while speaking to FBI employees in Los Angeles and initially thought it was a prank. | |
| The controversial move has been condemned by Democrats, many of whom said the sacking was “Nixonian” and some high profile Republicans including Trump supporters. | |
| Justin Amash, a Republican congressman from Michigan said he was reviewing legislation to establish an independent commission on Russia in the wake of the news. | |
| Richard Burr, a Republican leading the Senate intelligence committee investigation into Russia’s influence over the 2016 presidential election, said he was “troubled by the timing and reasoning” of the decision. | |
| Chuck Schumer, Democratic minority leader in the Senate, said he told Trump he was “making a very big mistake.” | |
| Meanwhile, a CNN report claims that a grand jury has been convened and has started issuing subpoenas relating to the FBI’s Russia probe. The development, if confirmed suggests the investigation has entered a new phase. | |
| The decision to fire Comey has caused the dollar to slip on foreign exchange markets overnight. The dollar index, which investors use to track the greenback against six other currencies, dropped 0.2%. | |
| Trump himself has only commented once since the story broke, using his personal and presidential Twitter accounts to attack Chuck Schumer’s stance on Comey. | |
| The president is due to meet Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov at the White House on Wednesday. | |
| It is not known who will replace Comey. Deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe has been made acting director until a new bureau head is selected. Rudy Guiliani, spotted at Trump’s hotel in DC on Tuesday night, has said he is not in the running. | |
| 5.51am BST | |
| 05:51 | |
| Another Republican breaks with Trump ... | |
| My statement on my former Justice Department colleague James Comey. https://t.co/FqGQ3NeuFu #VA10 pic.twitter.com/yZR52SYIj3 | |
| 5.41am BST | |
| 05:41 | |
| This story by Politico claims Trump acted because he was angry over the Russia investigation and Comey’s role in it. | |
| He had grown enraged by the Russia investigation, two advisers said, frustrated by his inability to control the mushrooming narrative around Russia. He repeatedly asked aides why the Russia investigation wouldn’t disappear and demanded they speak out for him. He would sometimes scream at television clips about the probe, one adviser said. | |
| It goes on: | |
| White House officials believed it would be a “win-win” because Republicans and Democrats alike have problems with the FBI director, one person briefed on their deliberations said. | |
| 5.36am BST | 5.36am BST |
| 05:36 | 05:36 |
| Dollar slips | Dollar slips |
| Martin Farrer | Martin Farrer |
| Donald Trump’s decision to fire FBI director James Comey has caused the dollar to slip on foreign exchange markets overnight. The dollar index, which investors use to track the greenback against six other currencies, slipped 0.2%. | Donald Trump’s decision to fire FBI director James Comey has caused the dollar to slip on foreign exchange markets overnight. The dollar index, which investors use to track the greenback against six other currencies, slipped 0.2%. |
| That sent the yen higher which doused a spate of buying in Tokyo shares and left other Asia Pacific markets fairly flat. | That sent the yen higher which doused a spate of buying in Tokyo shares and left other Asia Pacific markets fairly flat. |
| The Dow Jones industrial average on Wall Street is expected to fall around 0.25% when it opens later today, according to the futures market. | The Dow Jones industrial average on Wall Street is expected to fall around 0.25% when it opens later today, according to the futures market. |
| Bart Wakabayashi, branch manager for State Street Bank and Trust in Tokyo, said: “The Comey news is being treated as a risk-off event, and the headlines were sparking the dollar’s move down. | Bart Wakabayashi, branch manager for State Street Bank and Trust in Tokyo, said: “The Comey news is being treated as a risk-off event, and the headlines were sparking the dollar’s move down. |
| “The ‘Trump trade’ lifted the dollar after the election, but now we have to see if he can deliver on all of his promises.” | “The ‘Trump trade’ lifted the dollar after the election, but now we have to see if he can deliver on all of his promises.” |
| 5.28am BST | 5.28am BST |
| 05:28 | 05:28 |
| Here at the Trump hotel: Rudy Giuliani. Tells me & @Olivianuzzi he's not a candidate to replace Comey pic.twitter.com/U4k9Axs3Qd | Here at the Trump hotel: Rudy Giuliani. Tells me & @Olivianuzzi he's not a candidate to replace Comey pic.twitter.com/U4k9Axs3Qd |
| 5.17am BST | 5.17am BST |
| 05:17 | 05:17 |
| Eric Holder, who served as attorney general during the Obama administration, has this to say: | Eric Holder, who served as attorney general during the Obama administration, has this to say: |
| To the career men and women at DOJ/FBI: you know what the job entails and how to do it. Be strong and unafraid. Duty. Honor. Country. | To the career men and women at DOJ/FBI: you know what the job entails and how to do it. Be strong and unafraid. Duty. Honor. Country. |
| 5.14am BST | 5.14am BST |
| 05:14 | 05:14 |
| The Wall Street Journal has an interesting take on why Comey was fired: Trump thought he was getting too much attention from TV networks. | The Wall Street Journal has an interesting take on why Comey was fired: Trump thought he was getting too much attention from TV networks. |
| In the months before his decision to dismiss Mr. Comey as head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mr. Trump grew unhappy that the media spotlight kept shining on the director. He viewed Mr. Comey as eager to step in front of TV cameras and questioned whether his expanding media profile was warping his view of the Russia investigation, the officials said. One White House aide, speaking after Mr. Comey’s dismissal, described him as a show horse. | In the months before his decision to dismiss Mr. Comey as head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mr. Trump grew unhappy that the media spotlight kept shining on the director. He viewed Mr. Comey as eager to step in front of TV cameras and questioned whether his expanding media profile was warping his view of the Russia investigation, the officials said. One White House aide, speaking after Mr. Comey’s dismissal, described him as a show horse. |
| 5.03am BST | 5.03am BST |
| 05:03 | 05:03 |
| Agence France-Presse has some details on the Trump/Lavrov meeting timed to take place tomorrow: | Agence France-Presse has some details on the Trump/Lavrov meeting timed to take place tomorrow: |
| President Donald Trump will host Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov for talks at the White House on Wednesday, his highest-level encounter with a Russian official since taking office. | President Donald Trump will host Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov for talks at the White House on Wednesday, his highest-level encounter with a Russian official since taking office. |
| The two men will meet in the Oval Office at 10:30 am (1430 GMT), according to the White House. | The two men will meet in the Oval Office at 10:30 am (1430 GMT), according to the White House. |
| The Russian foreign minister, making his first trip to Washington in four years, will also meet his counterpart Rex Tillerson. | The Russian foreign minister, making his first trip to Washington in four years, will also meet his counterpart Rex Tillerson. |
| 4.49am BST | 4.49am BST |
| 04:49 | 04:49 |
| Washington correspondent David Smith has written about how White House press staff have performed during the furore over Comey’s sacking. | Washington correspondent David Smith has written about how White House press staff have performed during the furore over Comey’s sacking. |
| The administration deployed Sean Spicer, Kellyanne Conway and Sarah Huckabee Sanders to sell the message that his dismissal was definitely, absolutely, totally not about Russia. | The administration deployed Sean Spicer, Kellyanne Conway and Sarah Huckabee Sanders to sell the message that his dismissal was definitely, absolutely, totally not about Russia. |
| 4.38am BST | 4.38am BST |
| 04:38 | 04:38 |
| The controversy over Comey’s firing has reached Australia, where former ambassador to the US Kim Beazley said he believes Trump sacked Comey to shut down the investigation into his campaign’s links with Russia. | The controversy over Comey’s firing has reached Australia, where former ambassador to the US Kim Beazley said he believes Trump sacked Comey to shut down the investigation into his campaign’s links with Russia. |
| Beazley, who served as ambassador from 2010 to 2016, told a group in Brisbane he was not surprised by the move: | Beazley, who served as ambassador from 2010 to 2016, told a group in Brisbane he was not surprised by the move: |
| Certainly the inquiry the FBI is currently conducting into the relationship of Trump’s campaign team, maybe Trump himself, and the Russians is such that it may have reached the point where somebody would want to be able to appoint an FBI director to suppress the investigation.” | Certainly the inquiry the FBI is currently conducting into the relationship of Trump’s campaign team, maybe Trump himself, and the Russians is such that it may have reached the point where somebody would want to be able to appoint an FBI director to suppress the investigation.” |
| 4.29am BST | 4.29am BST |
| 04:29 | 04:29 |
| 4.11am BST | 4.11am BST |
| 04:11 | 04:11 |
| David Smith has produced some handy annotations to the three letters that spelled the end of James Comey’s tenure at the FBI: | David Smith has produced some handy annotations to the three letters that spelled the end of James Comey’s tenure at the FBI: |