By CGTN America's The Heat
US President Donald Trump fired the Director of the FBI James Comey late on Tuesday. The news came against the backdrop of an FBI investigation into Russia’s alleged interference in the US presidential election.
The White House statement read:
"Today, President Donald J. Trump informed FBI Director James Comey that he has been terminated and removed from office. President Trump acted based on the clear recommendations of both Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. '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,' said President Trump. A search for a new permanent FBI Director will begin immediately."
James Comey waits before testifying at a House Intelligence Committee hearing into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US election, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 20, 2017. /VCG Photo
CGTN spoke to Simon Marks, the president and chief correspondent for Feature Story News.
Marks said: "It’s clear from most letters, that he’s being fired because back in July in 2016, he didn’t pursue prosecutions against Hilary Clinton and some people around her, over her use of private server, and remember, that’s throughout the presidential campaign, wherever Donald Trump went, his supporters were supposed to chant 'lock her up' about Hillary Clinton.
"Now we are in the extraordinary situation where Donald Trump has James Comey to thank for his election victory last November, and is now firing the FBI director who has been in the lead role investigating the collusion by the Trump team and the Russians. It doesn’t get bigger than that."
