Reed About Politics: FBI Director Fired!
Reed Cleland
On May 9th, 2017, Donald Trump became the second president in American history to fire his FBI director!
This is a major political bombshell that has stunned journalists, politicians, and pundits alike. The story about President Trump and FBI director James Comey is a long one, but this article will attempt to simplify the issue.
James Comey was the seventh director of the FBI. Aside from advising the president, FBI directors do not like to involve themselves in the public spotlight of day-to-day politics. Unfortunately for Comey, he became hopelessly entangled in politics during his investigation of Hillary Clinton’s email scandal. It was believed that Clinton had violated the law by sending emails containing national secrets from her personal computer. The FBI initiated a probe into the Clinton server in an attempt to find any wrongdoing. On July 5th, 2016, James Comey made a public announcement that the FBI had concluded its investigation, finding no evidence that Clinton had broken the law.
This was not the end, however. On October 28th, the FBI announced that it was reopening its investigation because it had discovered new emails. This decision was made two weeks before the election, and it was highly controversial. Although Comey later declared that the FBI’s findings did not change its original decision, many people argue that reopening the investigation was a political move that doomed Hillary Clinton’s presidential run.
And where was Trump? Throughout the entire Clinton-FBI scandal, he was eagerly cheering James Comey’s efforts. Indeed, Trump may have Comey to thank for his triumph in the election. Comey’s reopening of the email investigation may have swung enough votes to Trump for him to win.
Things quickly turned on Trump. After he won the election, the American government publicly announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had purposely tried to hurt Hillary Clinton’s chances. American intelligence discovered that Russia hacked the computer system of the Democratic National Committee, the organization that heads the Democratic party. Former President Obama ordered several investigations, eventually culminating in the expulsion of thirty-five Russian diplomats. The most unsettling moment came in March 2017 when James Comey announced that the FBI was investigating possible connections between Trump associates and Russian officials.
This brings us to the events of May 9th. On the evening of Tuesday, May 9th, the White House released the president’s order for Comey’s removal. Although Trump stated that Comey was being fired because of how he handled the Clinton email scandal, many people doubt that this is the true reason. They believe that Trump fired Comey because Comey was leading the investigation of the possible link between Trump associates and Russia.
As can be expected, politicians and pundits are in an uproar. While some defend Trump’s decision, others accuse him of abusing his power. They are comparing the incident to Richard Nixon’s Saturday Night Massacre. This much is inarguably true: while Trump had made several unorthodox decisions since his inauguration, firing James Comey was the most dramatic. Trump will now need a new FBI director who will be supported by angry Democrats and his other critics. Calls for new investigations into the Russian election interference will probably increase. In a democratic nation, it is important that every single political leader is held accountable. Trump is leading Washington D.C. down a path on which it has never traveled before. His decisions are changing the the direction of American politics, for good or for worse.
Works Cited
Ciss, Doug. “Quickly Catch Up on the Comey Firing.” Wed. May 10 2017. Web. Accessed Wed. May 10 2017.
Miller, Greg. “Declassified report says Putin ‘ordered’ effort to undermine faith in U.S. election and help Trump.” Jan. 6. Web. Accessed Wed. May 10 2017.
