Cheriss May/ZUMA
On Thursday, President Donald Trump complained about a lack of appreciation for firing James Comey as head of the FBI, asking on Twitter when the gratitude will start pouring in.
When will people start saying, “thank you, Mr. President, for firing James Comey?”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2018
The president’s rhetorical question overlooks the fact that his explosive decision to fire Comey was the catalyst for the gravest threat to his presidency: the appointment of Robert Mueller as a special counsel investigating Trump’s campaign ties Russia. Soon after Comey’s May 2017 firing, Trump seemed to confirm to NBC’s Lester Holt that he got rid of Comey because of the investigation, and reportedly told Russian officials that the firing had relieved pressure on his administration. The admissions have become central to Mueller’s investigation into whether Trump attempted to obstruct justice by sacking Comey.
Trump’s tweet comes ahead of the imminent expected release of a Justice Department inspector general report on Comey’s handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server. CNN has reported the findings are likely to be critical of the actions of both the former FBI director and Loretta Lynch, the Obama administration’s final attorney general.
