Page 8A
NATION/WORLD
East Oregonian
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Trump abruptly axes FBI’s Comey amid Russia probe
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President
Donald Trump abruptly fired FBI
Director James Comey Tuesday,
dramatically ousting the nation’s
top law enforcement official in the
midst of an FBI investigation into
whether Trump’s campaign had ties
to Russia’s meddling in the election
that sent him to the White House.
In a letter to Comey, Trump said
the firing was necessary to restore
“public trust and confidence” in
the FBI. Comey has come under
intense scrutiny in recent months
for his public comments on an
investigation into Democrat Hillary
Clinton’s email practices, including
a pair of letters he sent to Congress
on the matter in the closing days of
last year’s campaign.
Trump made no mention of
Comey’s role in the Clinton inves-
tigation, which she has blamed
in part for the election result.
But in announcing the firing, the
White House circulated a scathing
memo, written by Deputy Attorney
General Rod Rosenstein, criticizing
Comey’s handling of the Clinton
probe, including the director’s
decision to hold a news confer-
ence announcing its findings and
releasing “derogatory information”
about Clinton.
Since Attorney General Jeff
Sessions recused himself from
the bureau’s Trump-Russia probe,
Rosenstein, his deputy, has been in
charge.
This is only the second firing of
an FBI director in history. President
Bill Clinton dismissed William
Sessions amid allegations of ethical
lapses in 1993.
Democrats slammed Trump’s
action, comparing it to President
Richard Nixon’s “Saturday Night
Massacre” decision to fire the
independent special prosecutor
overseeing the Watergate investi-
gation in 1973, which prompted the
resignations of the Justice Depart-
ment’s top two officials.
“This is Nixonian,” Sen. Bob
Casey, D-Pa., declared on Twitter.
“Outrageous,” said Oregon Sen.
Ron Wyden, calling for Comey
to immediately be summoned to
testify to Congress about the status
of the Trump-Russia investigation.
Rep. Adam Schiff of California, top
Democrat on the House intelligence
committee, said the White House
was “brazenly interfering” in the
probe.
Republican Sen. John McCain
of Arizona said Congress must form
a special committee to investigate
AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
In this May 3 photo, then-FBI Director James Comey pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill in
Washington, before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
Author of memo about Comey overseeing Russia-2016 probe
WASHINGTON (AP) — The author of a scathing
memo that the White House used to justify the
firing of FBI director James Comey is the same man
overseeing a Justice Department investigation into
Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein wrote
a three-page rebuke of Comey’s conduct in which
Rosenstein said the FBI director had usurped the
attorney general’s authority last year when he
announced that the FBI was closing its investigation
of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email as secretary
of state. Rosenstein added that Comey’s behavior was
“a textbook example of what federal prosecutors and
agents are taught not to do.”
Rosenstein, a veteran prosecutor, said the FBI was
“unlikely to regain public and congressional trust
until it has a director who understands the gravity of
the mistakes” and promises not to repeat them.
Russia’s interference in the election.
Democrats expressed deep
skepticism about the stated reasons
for Tuesday’s firing, raising the
prospect of a White House effort to
stymie the investigations by the FBI
and congressional panels.
Trump will now appoint
Comey’s successor. The White
House said the search for a replace-
ment was beginning immediately.
Comey’s deputy, Andrew McCabe,
would presumably take over in the
interim.
Trump has ridiculed the investi-
gations as a “hoax” and has denied
that his campaign was involved in
Russia’s meddling. In his letter to
Comey, he asserted that the FBI
director had informed him “on
three separate occasions that I am
not under investigation.”
Tuesday’s stunning announce-
ment came shortly after the FBI
corrected aspects of Comey’s
sworn testimony on Capitol Hill
last week. Comey told lawmakers
that Huma Abedin, a top aide to
Hillary Clinton, had sent “hundreds
and thousands” of emails to her
BRIEFLY
AUSTIN, Texas (AP)
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advancing a proposal to
license family immigrant
detention centers as child
care providers.
The state Senate voted
20-11 Tuesday to give
preliminary approval to
a bill that would allow
Texas to license two family
lockdowns, despite a past
state court ruling that
such facilities do not meet
minimum requirements
to care for kids. The
measure would enable
detention facilities to hold
families for prolonged
stays, which advocates
say could physically and
psychologically harm
children.
The bill needs a final
Senate vote that could come
as early as Wednesday
before heading to the state
House. Texas’ legislative
session ends May 29, so
time is running short.
The private prison
company GEO Group,
which operates an 830-bed
family facility south of San
Antonio, lobbied Texas
politicians to introduce the
licensing bill, which could
help its Karnes Residential
Center remain open. That
lockup, which mainly
holds women and children
seeking asylum from Central
America, earns GEO $55
million annually.
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WASHINGTON (AP) —
The Trump administration
announced Tuesday it will
arm Syria’s Kurdish fighters
“as necessary” to recapture
the key Islamic State group
stronghold of Raqqa, despite
intense opposition from
NATO ally Turkey, which
MORE WINNERS. MORE OFTEN.
5 8
Trump OKs arms
for Syrian Kurds,
despite Turkish
objections
a written statement that
President Donald Trump
authorized the arms Monday.
His approval gives the
Pentagon the go-ahead to
“equip Kurdish elements
of the Syrian Democratic
Forces as necessary to
ensure a clear victory over
ISIS” in Raqqa, said White,
who was traveling with
Defense Secretary Jim
Mattis in Europe.
The U.S. sees the
Kurdish-led forces, or SDF,
as its most effective partner
against IS.
husband’s laptop, including some
with classified information.
On Tuesday, the FBI told the
Senate Judiciary Committee that
only “a small number” of the
thousands of emails found on the
laptop had been forwarded there
while most had simply been backed
up from electronic devices. Most
of the email chains on the laptop
containing classified information
were not the result of forwarding,
the FBI said.
Some lawmakers did welcome
news of the dismissal.
8 8
Texas votes to
give immigration
lockups child care
licenses
sees the Kurds as terrorists.
The decision is meant
to accelerate the Raqqa
operation but undermines
the Turkish government’s
view that the Syrian Kurdish
group known as the YPG is
an extension of a Kurdish
terrorist organization
that operates in Turkey.
Washington is eager to
retake Raqqa, arguing that it
is a haven for IS operatives
to plan attacks on the West.
Dana W. White,
the Pentagon’s chief
spokeswoman, said in
President Donald Trump said he fired Comey in
part based on the memo, titled “Restoring Public
Confidence in the FBI.”
But the sharply worded memo could add to
concern among some Democrats about conflicts with
the Russia probe. Attorney General Jeff Sessions
recused himself from any Trump-Russia investigation
in March after the Justice Department acknowledged
he had spoken twice with the Russian ambassador
last year and had failed to disclose the contacts during
his Senate confirmation process. Sessions said he had
not tried to mislead anyone but could have been more
careful in his answers. He later amended testimony.
That recusal handed authority for an investigation
to an acting deputy, and then to Rosenstein once he
was confirmed last month. Rosenstein was appointed
by President George W. Bush and remained in the
post for the entire Obama administration.
“Given the recent controversies
surrounding the director, I believe
a fresh start will serve the FBI and
the nation well,” said Republican
Lindsay Graham of South Carolina,
chairman of a Senate Judiciary
subcommittee investigating the
Russian campaign interference.
Comey, 56, was nominated by
President Barack Obama for the
FBI post in 2013 to a 10-year term,
though that appointment does not
ensure a director will serve the full
term.
Praised frequently by both
parties for his independence and
integrity, Comey has spent three
decades in law enforcement.
But his prominent role in the
2016 presidential campaign raised
questions about his judgment and
impartiality. Though the FBI did
not recommend charges against
Clinton for mishandling classified
information, Comey was blister-
ingly critical of her decision to use a
personal email account and private
internet server during her four years
as secretary of state.
Comey strongly defended his
decisions during the hearing last
week. He said he was “mildly
nauseous” at the thought of having
swayed the election but also said he
would do the same again.
Clinton has partially blamed
her loss on Comey’s disclosure
to Congress less than two weeks
before Election Day that the email
investigation would be revisited.
Comey later said the FBI, again,
had found no reason to bring any
charges.
Trump disagreed with Clinton’s
assessment, tweeting that Comey
actually “was the best thing that
ever happened to Hillary Clinton
in that he gave her a free pass for
many bad deeds!”
Clinton’s advisers were stunned
by Trump’s decision Tuesday.
Former campaign spokesman
Brian Fallon said that while he
believed Comey had “inflicted
severe damage” on the FBI, “the
timing and manner of this firing
suggest that it is the product of
Donald Trump feeling the heat on
the ongoing Russia investigation
and not a well thought out response
to the inappropriate handling of the
Clinton investigation.”
Though Comey was well-liked
within the bureau, his independent
streak occasionally rankled the
Obama administration, including
his repeated contention that a spike
in violent crime might be linked to
police officer anxiety over public
scrutiny.
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