Silke Jasso
President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday, citing concerns about his handling of an investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s email server investigation. Both the timing of the announcement and Trump’s reasoning raised eyebrows, since Trump was vocal in his support of Comey’s actions while on the campaign trail.
Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, appeared in place of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer during a Wednesday press briefing. There, she gave an official statement explaining why Trump decided to fire Comey:
.@SHSanders45 says Trump "lost confidence" in Comey over last few months, claims FBI "rank and file" did as well https://t.co/OiSJHanptm pic.twitter.com/PB9NHdSU2A
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) May 10, 2017
“The president over the last couple of months lost confidence in Director Comey, the [Department of Justice] lost confidence in Director Comey, bipartisan members of Congress made it clear that they had lost confidence in Director Comey, and, most importantly, the rank and file of the FBI had lost confidence in their director,” she said.
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Sanders said that Trump had been considering the action for several months since taking office:
.@SHSanders45 tells @jonkarl Pres. Trump made final decision to fire Dir. Comey Tuesday but had been "considering" it since he took office pic.twitter.com/QjW0d60dkN
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) May 10, 2017
You can watch the full briefing below:
