{"id":317922,"date":"2017-05-10T14:29:37","date_gmt":"2017-05-10T14:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=317922"},"modified":"2017-05-10T14:29:37","modified_gmt":"2017-05-10T14:29:37","slug":"trump-defends-sacking-of-fbi-chief-comey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/05\/trump-defends-sacking-of-fbi-chief-comey\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump defends sacking of FBI chief Comey"},"content":{"rendered":"
Democratic and Republican lawmakers will be “thanking” Donald Trump for firing FBI director James Comey, the president has said.<\/p>\n
In early morning tweets, Mr Trump defended his shock decision to fire the FBI chief over his handling of the inquiry into Hillary Clinton’s emails.<\/p>\n
His comments come just before he is set to meet the Russia’s foreign minister.<\/p>\n
Mr Comey was leading an FBI investigation into alleged links between the Trump campaign and Russia.<\/p>\n
“James Comey will be replaced by someone who will do a far better job, bringing back the spirit and prestige of the FBI,” Mr Trump said in defending his decisionon Wednesday.<\/p>\n
“Comey lost the confidence of almost everyone in Washington, Republican and Democrat alike. When things calm down, they will be thanking me!” he added.<\/p>\n
The president and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are scheduled to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n
The White House shocked Washington and Democrats were quick to link the firing of Mr Comey to the Russia investigation.<\/p>\n
It is only the second time the head of the FBI has been fired.<\/p>\n
Why was James Comey fired?<\/strong><\/p>\n President Trump wrote in a letter to Mr Comey that he agreed with US Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recommendation that “you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau”.<\/p>\n Mr Sessions said the department of justice was “committed to a high level of discipline, integrity, and the rule of law”, and “a fresh start is needed”.<\/p>\n Many have expressed surprise that Mr Comey should be fired for his handling of the investigation into Mrs Clinton’s emails, given that Mr Trump once praised the FBI director’s conduct in the matter.<\/p>\n