President Trump fires FBI director amid Russian influence investigation

President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday in a letter that stated Comey was "not able to effectively lead the bureau” and described the need to “find new leadership for the FBI that restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission.” 

The firing prompted calls by members of the New Hampshire congressional delegation and others for an independent special prosecutor to investigate alleged Russian-influence in the 2016 election and ties to the Trump administration.

A memo from the attorney general’s office cited Comey’s handling the investigation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails as reason for recommending Comey’s firing to the president.

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, in a statement said Comey’s firing “is very disturbing and opens a Pandora’s box of additional questions regarding the ongoing investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.”

Shaheen’s comments and her call for an independent investigation were echoed by statements from other members of the New Hampshire delegation - U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-NH, U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-1st Congressional District, and U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster, D-2nd CD.

Hassan, in calling for an independent special prosecutor, said, “The American people deserve a full accounting of the process that went into this decision and deserve to know whether the FBI’s ongoing investigation into the Trump campaign and Russian interference in the 2016 election had any influence on the President’s action.”

The recommendation to terminate Comey originated with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, a holdover from the administration of President Barack Obama. In his memo to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Rosenstein laid out reasons for firing Comey and, as he said, “restoring public confidence in the FBI.” He said his perspective on the issue that Comey had acted inappropriately came from former attorneys general and deputy attorneys general, including Obama’s attorney general Eric Holder.

Holder, wrote Rosenstein, “concluded that the Director ‘negatively affected public trust in both the Justice Department and the FBI.’”

Supporters of Trump’s decision say that Comey had become too public about ongoing investigations, undermining his credibility. They also cite historic precedence: President Bill Clinton in 1993, at the recommendation of Attorney General Janet Reno, fired FBI Director William Sessions.

Opponents say Trump’s firing of Comey was done to stymie the Justice Department’s investigation into whether Russian-influence has had any role in the election of Trump as president and in his administration’s policy decisions.

Did President Trump do the right thing in firing Comey? Why or why not?