President Donald Trump has fired FBI Director James Comey. In a statement, Trump says Comey's firing "will mark a new beginning" for the FBI.
President Trump's shock move to sack FBI Director James Comey has seen his critics liken it to the "Saturday Night Massacre" and dubbed it Trump's own "Watergate moment".
On Wednesday, he met will meet with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in the Oval Office, in the first face-to-face contact he has had with Russian leadership since becoming leader.
Ahead of the meeting, the President said "when things calm down, they will be thanking me!" about politicians in Washington.
Dems have been complaining for months & months about Dir. Comey. Now that he has been fired they PRETEND to be aggrieved. Phony hypocrites!
It comes after he signed a letter terminating Comey's 10-year appointment early, saying he acted based on "clear recommendations" from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
"The FBI is one of our Nation's most cherished and respected institutions and today will mark a new beginning for our crown jewel of law enforcement," he said.
Critics swiftly compared the move to Richard Nixon's "Saturday Night Massacre" in October 1973 when he ordered Archibald Cox to be sacked - the special prosecutor investigating the burglary that would eventually end his Presidency.
As Washington deals with the fallout from the unexpected move, the Lavrov meeting added to intense speculation over the reasons behind Comey's termination.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The Russian minister joked about the firing to reporters, saying "Was he fired? You're kidding." Photo / Getty
The pair discussed Syria and the fight against terrorism in a follow up from President Trump's phonecall with Putin one week ago. Lavrov joked about the news in an earlier meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, saying "Was he fired? You're kidding. You're kidding."
President Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was "an entirely domestic matter" for the US.
In the letter, Trump makes clear Comey had told the President he was not personally under investigation, and the firing was due to a lack of confidence in the FBI's handling over Hillary Clinton's emails.
That investigation over whether Clinton had broken the law over keeping State Department emails on a private server forced a late intervention by Comey into the election campaign just 11 days before the vote that was widely seen as a benefit to President Trump.
FBI Director James Comey saw breaking news about his termination on TV and thought it was a joke. Photo / Getty Images
However Comey has also recently testified there is an active investigation into key members of President Trump's team over their contact with Russia in the lead up to the election.
Now, the fact Comey has been sacked on the advice of Attorney Jeff Sessions - who was forced to recuse himself from the investigation after having been found to have lied over his links with Russia - has many crying foul.
Massachusetts Democratic Senator Edward Markey said it was "disturbingly reminiscent of the Saturday Night Massacre during the Watergate scandal and the national turmoil that it caused."
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee said "the echo of Watergate is very strong here."
President Donald Trump said he acted on advice of his top legal appointees, on of whom was found lying under oath over his ties to Russia. Photo / AP
News website Vox described it as a "historic moment" that "will bedevil the rest of the Trump presidency - and potentially, bring it to a premature close."
"Every White House scandal eventually reaches a turning point, one in which historians later look back on as the moment that ultimately determined whether a president survived or was forced from office. We are now at that moment," it said.
However others have backed the move with Republican Lindsey Graham saying the "fresh start will serve the FBI and the nation well."
Senator John McCain has said he was "disappointed" in the decision and called for a "special congressional committee to investigate Russia's interference in the 2016 election."
Presidential historian Michael Beschloss told AP the move shows Trump's clear willingness to disrupt the system charged with keeping the president accountable.
"That's why this is unprecedented," he said. "He's showed signs of not having a great deal of respect for the system by which this investigation has been operating."
Trump's abrupt firing of Comey while he leads an investigation into members of his campaign has many comparing it to Watergate. Photo / AP
Republican Senator Richard Burr, who is overseeing one of the congressional investigations into Russia's election interference, said: "I am troubled by the timing and reasoning of Comey's termination."
President Trump has also sacked Attorney General Sally Yates after she refused to implement his travel ban and his vowed "see you in court" to judges who have opposed his moves.
FBI Directors are appointed for 10-year terms and Comey was appointed by President Obama in 2013.
