The Washington Post/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — President Trump fired FBI director James Comey on Tuesday, a move that has been decried by Democrats and questioned by some Republicans.
Comey was appointed director in 2013 by President Obama and had six more years left in his 10-year term.
As more details surrounding Comey’s firing are revealed, here are the events leading up to his dismissal:
July 5, 2016 – Comey’s unusual press conference
James Comey held a press conference announcing that the FBI could not “find a case that would support bringing criminal charges” against Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server as
secretary of state.
Although he strongly criticized Clinton and her staff for being “extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information,” Comey effectively closed the FBI’s
investigation and cleared Clinton of any possible charges.
Oct. 28, 2016 – The fateful letter Comey sent
The “October surprise” in the 2016 election was the letter Comey sent to Congress informing members that the FBI has discovered more emails related to the investigation into Clinton’s private email
server.
The new emails were found on the laptop belonging to Clinton aide Huma Abedin’s estranged husband Anthony Weiner. The FBI was investigating the former New York congressman for any entirely
different matter.
Trump praised the FBI’s decision to reopen the investigation.
“Perhaps finally justice will be done,” he said at a Manchester, New Hampshire, rally.
It was an unorthodox move for Comey to acknowledge the FBI’s finding of new evidence in the Clinton investigation considering the longstanding practice that officials do not comment publicly on
pending investigations nor disclose information close to an election as so to avoid any potential influence on the outcome.
Jan. 22, 2017 – Trump and Comey appear chummy
Trump welcomed Comey to the White House during a reception for law enforcement and first responders.
Trump pointed out Comey, calling him “James,” and said with a chuckle, “He’s become more famous than me.” Comey went up to Trump and shook the president’s hand.
March 20, 2017 – Comey confirms FBI’s investigation into potential Trump-Russia ties
During a five-hour hearing on Capitol Hill, Comey confirmed to the House Intelligence Committee that the FBI was investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, including any possible
links or coordination between Trump campaign associates and the Russian government.
April 12, 2017 – Trump hints at Comey’s future
Trump told Fox Business in an interview that “it’s not too late” to dismiss Comey from his position as head of the FBI. Presidents have the authority to fire FBI directors, which has only happened
once before, in 1993.
“No it’s not too late. But you know, I have confidence in him,” Trump said. “We’ll see what happens.”
April 25, 2017 – Rod Rosenstein is confirmed as deputy attorney general
The Senate votes 94-6 to confirm Rod Rosenstein as deputy attorney general. Rosenstein was put in charge of overseeing the investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election
after Attorney General Jeff Sessions had recused himself the month before.
May 1, 2017 – Comey meets with Rosenstein
The last meeting between Comey and Rosenstein was a week before Comey was fired. During their meeting the two “talked about issues unrelated to what is being reported” and resources for the Russia
probe were not discussed, according to a DOJ spokeswoman.
May 3, 2017 – Comey explains his Oct. 28 letter
During an oversight hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Comey was asked several questions about his decision to send the Oct. 28 letter to Congress.
“It makes me mildly nauseous to think that we might have had some impact on the election, but honestly, it wouldn’t change the decision,” Comey said.
Comey also testified that Abedin, Clinton’s aide, appeared to have a “regular practice” of “forward[ing] hundreds and thousands of emails” to Weiner, “some of which contain classified information.”
May 8, 2017 – Comey’s testimony revealed to be inaccurate
ProPublica was the first to report that Comey’s testimony related to Abedin on May 3 is inaccurate. Sources refuted that the emails were mostly classified and told ABC News that Comey overstated
the number of emails Abedin forwarded.
Comey had asked for more funding
Comey briefed some members of the Senate Intelligence Committee that he had asked for more money and manpower from the DOJ. Comey’s request was made directly to Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein – the man who recommended his firing. However, this is not known until May 10.
DOJ spokeswoman Sarah Flores said on May 10 that these reports were “100 percent false.” “It didn’t happen,” Flores said in a statement.
May 9, 2017 – The day of Comey’s firing
During the White House press briefing Tuesday afternoon, ABC News’ Jonathan Karl asked press secretary Sean Spicer if the White House was concerned that Comey had given inaccurate testimony last
week. According to ProPublica, the FBI followed up with a letter to Congress correcting Comey’s testimony.
“At this point, I have not asked and I’m not fully aware of this. I mean, I’m aware of the testimony that occurred and the inquiries, but I have yet to follow up on that, and I’d be glad to follow
up,” Spicer said.
Karl then asked Spicer if the president had full confidence in Comey.
“I have no reason to believe — I haven’t asked him. I have not asked the president since last time we spoke about this,” Spicer said.
As for Comey’s inaccurate testimony, Spicer said, “I don’t want to start speaking on behalf of the president without speaking to him first.”
The letters from Rosenstein and Sessions
Rosenstein wrote a memorandum to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, criticizing Comey’s handling of the Clinton email investigation as well as his July 5 press conference on the FBI’s findings in the
Clinton probe.
“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.
The New York Times reported that senior White House and DOJ officials were instructed to build a case against Comey last week and Sessions was assigned to come up with reasons to justify firing
Comey.
Press secretary Sean Spicer said the letters written by Rosenstein and Sessions convinced Trump to fire Comey.
The president made the decision to let Comey go “pretty quickly” after receiving the recommendations, Sarah Huckabee Sanders told Fox News later that night.
Trump alerts Congress
Shortly after 5 p.m. ET, President Trump called several members of Congress to inform them of his decision.
According to Spicer, Trump reached out to House and Senate leadership. He called Speaker Paul Ryan and left a message for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. He also spoke to Senate Minority Leader
Chuck Schumer and reached out to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Trump also reached out to Sens. Lindsey Graham, Bob Goodlatte, Chuck Grassley and Dianne Feinstein.
“President Trump called me at 5:30 p.m. and indicated he would be removing Director Comey, saying the FBI needed a change,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said in a statement following Comey’s
firing.
Sen. Schumer, D-N.Y., said when he received the call from Trump, he told him, “Mr. President, with all due respect, you’re making a big mistake.”
The news of Comey’s firing breaks
Around 5:40 p.m., news broke that Comey was fired. A statement from the White House said that President Trump informed Comey he had been “terminated and removed from office” and the search for a
new FBI director will “begin immediately.”
“The FBI is one of our nation’s most cherished and respected institutions and today will mark a new beginning for our crown jewel of law enforcement,” Trump said in the statement.
A White House official confirmed to ABC News that Keith Schiller, the president’s longtime bodyguard and Oval Office director of operations, hand-delivered Trump’s termination letter to FBI
headquarters.
Comey finds out
Comey, who was in Los Angeles for bureau travel, learned of his firing from TV reports. The letter from Trump was read to him over the phone, two FBI sources told ABC News. Comey was scheduled to
be the keynote speaker at a LA recruitment event but canceled his speech.
Trump met with acting FBI director Andrew McCabe in the Oval Office later that evening. McCabe held a conference call with the heads of FBI field offices across the country. His message to them was
simple: “Business as usual,” a source told ABC News.
Around 9 p.m. ET, Comey took off in a private jet from Los Angeles and landed in Washington at 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, no longer the FBI director.
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