President Donald Trump made waves on Tuesday as the White House announced he had suddenly fired FBI Director James Comey, immediately sparking an intense flurry of reactions across the political world.
Comey's termination is on the heels of the FBI clarifying inaccuracies in a passionate and dramatic testimony Comey had given the week prior over his investigation into Hillary Clinton's email scandal during her time as secretary of state. Trump said the recommendation came from Attorney General Jeff Sessions and White House officials reported that the revelation of Comey's inaccurate testimony was the final straw that drove Trump's decision.
But as head of the FBI, Comey had been tasked with leading the investigation into collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia and possible interference in the 2016 presidential election -- sparking speculation, especially among Democrats, that the Trump administration sought to squash that investigation.
See the wildest reactions to the news:
23PHOTOS
Reaction to Trump's firing of James Comey
See Gallery
Reaction to Trump's firing of James Comey
But does anyone seriously believe @realDonaldTrump fired the top person investigating his ties to Russia because he was unfair to Hillary?
Trump firing Comey shows how frightened the Admin is over Russia investigation
Gov. John Kasich statement on James Comey https://t.co/Wrwj6sGqnz
Removal of Director Comey only confirms need for select cmte to investigate #Russia's interference in 2016 election https://t.co/LfKlwSw6iQ
EVERYONE who cares about independence & rule of law in America should be "troubled by the timing and reasoning" of… https://t.co/NZY4qh3uiz
This is Nixonian. Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein must immediately appoint a special prosecutor to continue the Trump/Russia investigation.
Firing of Comey tainted by extraordinary conflict of interest. Independent prosecutor must be appointed to restore… https://t.co/lXBIJtTf18
First Pres Trump fired Sally Yates, then Preet Bharara. Now #Comey. Doesn't seem like an accident. We must have a special prosecutor.
If we don't get a special prosecutor, every American will rightfully suspect that the decision to fire #Comey was part of a cover-up.
We are in a full-fledged constitutional crisis.
Comey's fired, which means Trump must be one of the few people in DC that the FBI doesn't have something on.
My statement on James Comey https://t.co/NWBR8FGTCf
Elijah Cummings is calling for "immediate emergency hearings". https://t.co/iMsNmdPmHi
LEAHY: "This is nothing less than Nixonian." https://t.co/n4R4fWSgib
Sen. John McCain on Comey firing: "I regret that that took place. The president does have that authority, so I resp… https://t.co/pSEu3XXsj5
Statement on FBI Director Comey ➡ https://t.co/vB822Nw5OR
This should not be sugar coated. Firing Comey is up there in terms of the scariest things Trump has done.
I am troubled by the timing and reasoning of Director Comey’s termination.
My staff and I are reviewing legislation to establish an independent commission on Russia. The second paragraph of… https://t.co/qcm1PiFkNG
Ds were against Comey before they were for him.
U.S. Senator Susan Collins’ Statement on Director Comey
#mepolitics
https://t.co/LHCcbPJMsb https://t.co/xNUeGvENlv
Firing Comey has the foul stench of an attempt to stop an ongoing investigation into collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians.
Up Next
See Gallery
Discover More Like This
HIDE CAPTION
SHOW CAPTION
of
SEE ALL
BACK TO SLIDE
The former Democratic vice presidential nominee, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, floated the idea in a series of tweets, saying the termination proved "how frightened the Admin is over Russia investigation," arguing that it was "part of a growing pattern by White House to cover-up the truth."
Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer quickly called for an independent investigator to take over the Russia probe.
"This is part of a deeply troubling pattern from the Trump administration," the Democratic leader said in a press conference shortly after the announcement. "This does not seem to be a coincidence."
Schumer added that "every American will rightly suspect that the decision to fire Director Comey was part of a coverup," if the Justice Department did not assign a special prosecutor.
"But does anyone seriously believe @realDonaldTrump fired the top person investigating his ties to Russia because he was unfair to Hillary?" Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts tweeted in response, echoing Schumer's calls for a special prosecutor.
"We are in a full-fledged constitutional crisis," Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz, also a Democrat, said.
Democrats took a particularly critical tone of the decision, but reactions did not fall exclusively along party lines. While some Republicans defended the move, noting that Comey's behavior had been called into question before and that the FBI director serves at the pleasure of the president, others questioned the decision.
"I have long called for a special congressional committee to investigate Russia's interference in the 2016 election," Sen. John McCain said of the move. "The president's decision to remove the FBI director only confirms the need and the urgency for such a committee."
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, a Republican from North Carolina, said he was "troubled by the timing and reasoning" of the termination.
FBI directors typically serve 10-year teams. Comey served in his role for three.
RELATED: Meet the key players in the Trump-Russia story
10PHOTOS
Key players in Trump-Russia connection allegations
See Gallery
Key players in Trump-Russia connection allegations
Paul Manafort
Paul Manafort signed on as Donald Trump's campaign manager in March 2016. A longtime Republican strategist and beltway operative, Manafort had previously served as an adviser to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich -- a pro-Russia leader who was violently ousted in 2014. Manafort resigned from his campaign position in August 2016 amid questions over his lobbying history in Ukraine for an administration supportive of Russia. The former campaign manager reportedly remained in Trump's circle during the post-election transition period.
Michael Flynn
Gen. Michael Flynn was named President Trump's national security adviser in November of 2016. Flynn reportedly met and spoke with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in December, at one point discussing sanctions. Flynn originally told Vice President Pence he did not discuss sanctions -- a point the Department of Justice said made the national security adviser subject to blackmail. Flynn resigned from his position in February.
Sergey Kislyak
Outgoing Russian ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak is the Russian official U.S. attorney general Jeff Sessions -- communication Sessions denied during his Senate committee hearing testimony.
Roger Stone
Stone is a longtime Republican political consultant who served as a campaign adviser to Trump who continued to talk with the then-GOP candidate after stepping away from his adviser role. Stone claimed last year that he had knowledge of the planned WikiLeaks release of emails pertaining to Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee. Stone recently admitted to speaking via direct message with "Guccifer 2.0" -- an online entity U.S. officials believe is tied to Russia. Stone says the correspondence was “completely innocuous.”
Jeff Sessions
Former U.S. senator Jeff Sessions from Alabama joined Trump's campaign as a foreign policy adviser in February 2016. Sessions was nominated to be U.S. attorney general by President Trump and was then confirmed by the Senate. Reports then emerged that Sessions had spoken twice with Sergey Kislyak while he was senator -- a fact that he left out of his Senate hearing testimony. Instead, he said in writing that he had not communicated with any Russian officials during the campaign season. Sessions defended himself saying he had spoken with Kislyak specifically in a senate capacity.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
The American intelligence community accused Putin in Jan. 2017 of ordering a campaign to undermine trust in the American electoral process, developing a clear preference for Trump as president. "We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia's goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump," the report read.
James Comey
Comey publicly confirmed in March an FBI inquiry into Russia's involvement in the 2016 election. “The F.B.I., as part of our counterintelligence effort, is investigating the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 president election,” Comey stated.
Carter Page
Page worked for Merrill Lynch as an investment banker out of their Moscow office for three years before joining Trump's campaign as a foreign policy adviser. During his time with Merrill Lynch, Page advised transactions for two major Russian entities. Page has called Washington "hypocritical" for focusing on corruption and democratization in addressing U.S. relations with Russia. While Page is someone Trump camp has seemingly tried to distance itself from, Page recently said he has made frequent visits to Trump Tower.
J.D. Gordon
Before Gordon joined the Trump campaign as a national security adviser in March 2016, he served as a Pentagon spokesman from 2005 through 2009. Like others involved in Trump-Russia allegations, Gordon met with ambassador Kislyak in July at the Republican National Convention, but has since denied any wrongdoing in their conversation. He advocated for and worked to revise the RNC language on and position toward Ukraine relations, so it was more friendly toward Russia's dealings in the country.
