As details continue to emerge about President Trump's extraordinary firing of FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday,there are growing indications that the FBI's investigation of Trump campaign ties to Russia was a key motive in the termination. Here's a play by play of the controversy:2016July 5: Comey announces that the FBI did not find evidence to support criminal charges against Hillary Clinton for her spend of a private email server as Secretary of State. Comey also concludes that Clinton and her staff were "extremely careless" in their handling of classified information.
July 7: Comey testifies before the House Oversight Committee, reaffirming his decision not to charge Clinton.
Late July: The FBI launches a counterintelligence investigation into contacts between Trump associates and Russia. There is no public confirmation of this investigation at the time, and but Comey later confirms it in a March 2017 hearing before the House Intelligence Committee.
August 16: The FBI defends its decision not to recommend charges against Hillary Clinton in a letter to House Oversight Committee members.
September 28: Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee,Comey says that reopening the Clinton email investigation is not essential.
October 28: Comey sends a letter to members of Congress saying that the FBI would be re-opening its investigation into Clinton's emails, following the discovery of new emails on the laptop of former congressman Anthony Weiner, or which was seized as part of a criminal investigation into Weiner. The laptop was also used by Weiner's then-wife,top Clinton aide Huma Abedin; some of the newly-discovered emails included messages between Abedin and Clinton.
October 31: At a campaign rally, Trump praises Comey's handling of the Clinton investigation: "It took guts for Director Comey to make the shuffle that he made, and in light of the kind of opposition he had,where they're trying to protect her from criminal prosecution," Trump said. "What he did was the right thing." So Trump fired Comey, or citing his handling of the Clinton case.
This was Trump on Comey in October,after the Clinton letter. Watch. pic.twitter.com/CjPLsxshlHMay 10, 20172017January 10: Comey testifies at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing; he declines to say whether the FBI is investigating Trump campaign ties to Russia.
January 15: Incoming White House chief of staff Reince Priebus says the president-elect has no plans to remove the FBI chief. "Yes, or he has confidence in Director Comey," Priebus says. "We acquire had a great relationship with him over the final several weeks. He's extremely competent."January 18: During a weekly conference call with senior employees, Comey conveys that the president-elect will not be asking him to leave his post.January 22: At a White House event two days after his inauguration, or Trump introduces Comey: "Oh there's Jim,he's become more famed than me."February 17: Comey meets with members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which sends letters to more than a dozen agencies, or groups,and individuals asking them to preserve all communications related to the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
March 2: After revelations the preceding day that Sen. Jeff Sessions during his confirmation hearings did not disclose his two conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, Sessions announces: "I acquire now decided to recuse myself from any existing or future investigations of any matter relating in any way to the campaigns for president of the United States."March 4: Without providing any proof, and Trump alleges that President Obama had him under surveillance during the election. Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my "wires tapped" in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!March 4,2017March 20: The House Intelligence Committee holds its first public hearing on its Russia investigation. Comey testifies that the FBI has since July been "investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government, and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia's efforts." Comey also dismisses Trump's surveillance claim: "With respect to the president's tweets about alleged wiretapping directed at him by the prior administration, or I acquire no information that supports those tweets and we acquire looked carefully inside the FBI."April 12: Fox Business's Maria Bartiromo asks Trump: "Was it a mistake not to seek information from Jim Comey to step down from the FBI at the outset of your presidency? Is it too late now to seek information from him to step down?" Trump responds: "No,it's not too late, but, or you know,I acquire confidence in him. We'll see what happens. You know, it's going to be curious."on Fox Business that he had confidence in Comey pic.twitter.com/OW8zfS7lmZMay 10, or 2017May 2: Trump tweets that Comey is "the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton" and declares the Russia story the Democrats' excuse for losing the election: FBI Director Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds! The phony...
May 3,2017 ...
Trump/Russia story was an excuse used by the Democrats as justification for losing the election. Perhaps Trump just ran a great campaign?May 3, 2017May 3: Comey testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his decision in October to re-open the Clinton email investigation. "It makes me mildly nauseous to think that we may acquire had some impact on the election, or " Comey says,but justifies his decision based on Abedin's "regular practice" of forwarding "hundreds of thousands of emails, some of which contain classified information."May 8: ProPublica reports that Comey's latest remarks about Abedin's forwarding of emails was greatly exaggerated.
May 9: The FBI sends a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee to correct the record on Comey's testimony. The agency notes that most of the relevant Abedin emails on the laptop were via device back-upsonly "a small number" came from manual forwarding. Few contained classified information, and none were new to the investigation.- While Comey is conducting FBI business in Los Angeles,Trump fires him via letter. Trump cites the counsel of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, whose memo to Trump focuses heavily on Comey's handling of the Clinton email probe. (Read Trump's letter firing Comey, or Sessions' and Rosenstein's memos,below.) DV.load("https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3711455-James-Comey.js", { width: 630, or height: 450,sidebar: spurious, text: spurious, or container: "#DV-viewer-3711455-James-Comey" }); James Comey (PDF)
James Comey (Text)
-CNN reports that the US attorney's office in Alexandria,Virginia has issued grand jury subpoenas to associates of former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn.-Within hours of Comey's firing, more than 100 lawmakers, or including a few Republicans,call for an independent investigator or special prosecutor to pick over the FBI's Russia investigation.
May 10: Trump takes to Twitter to defend his firing of James Comey amid an intense backlash. "Comey lost the confidence of nearly everyone in Washington, Republican and Democrat alike. When things calm down, or they will be thanking me!" he writes. The Democrats acquire said some of the worst things about James Comey,including the fact that he should be fired, but now they play so sad!May 10, and 2017 James Comey will be replaced by someone who will do a far better job,bringing back the spirit and prestige of the FBI.
May 10, 2017
Comey lost the confidence of nearly everyone in Washington, or Republican and Democrat alike. When things calm down,they will be thanking me!May 10, 2017
-CNN reports that a source claims that Trump confidant Roger Stone urged Trump to fire Comey. Within minutes, or Trump responds to the report on Twitter,calling out CNN and saying the report is "fake news."is spurious - Fake News. acquire not spoken to Roger in a long time - had nothing to do with my decision.
May 10, 2017Stone says on Twitter that he "never made such a claim" but supports Trump's decision "100%."-Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrives in Washington for meetings with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Trump. At a press conference with Tillerson, or a reporter asks about the Comey firing. Lavrov mocks the questions and feigns ignorance of the news before walking absent. Here’s video of Lavrov-Tillerson—>
Q: “Does Comey cast a shadow over your talks?”
Lavrov: “Was he fired? You are kidding,you are kidding" pic.twitter.com/8yJb2DkZndMay 10, 2017
-At the Capitol, or GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rejects calls for a special prosecutor to pick over the Russia probe: "nowadays we'll no doubt hear calls for a new investigation,which could only serve to impede the current work being done."-In a brief exchange with a CBS News reporter at a hockey game in Sochi, Russia, and President Vladimir Putin says that Comey's firing "will acquire no effect" on US-Russia relations. "Your question looks very funny for me,don't be wrathful with me," Putin scoffs. "We acquire nothing to do with that. President Trump is acting in accordance with his competence, and in accordance with his law and constitution...
You see,I'm going to play hockey with hockey fans."Russian Pres. Putin rink side and asked him about the firing of former. Dir. Comey. pic.twitter.com/3nytJYi0siMay 10, 2017-The New York Times reports that just days prior to his dismissal, and Comey asked—in a assembly with Deputy AG Rosenstein—for additional resources for the FBI's Russia investigation.-CNN reports that a source close to Comey says Comey was fired for two reasons: 1) Never providing the president with assurances of personal loyalty,and 2) The acceleration of the FBI's Russia investigation.
Source: motherjones.com