FBI/INTELLIGENCE/JAMES COMEY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s decision to fire the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the midst of the bureau’s probe into his campaign associates’ possible links to Russia added impetus to calls for a special counsel to handle the case.
The sudden move by Mr. Trump on Tuesday galvanized Democrats, who said James Comey’s dismissal would sap ongoing federal investigations of any credibility and underscored the need for an independent person to oversee the probe and any subsequent prosecution. Many compared the firing to Richard Nixon’s Justice Department dismissals during the Watergate scandal.
‘This is Nixonian,’ Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) said in a statement, in which he called for an independent investigation into possible Trump-Russia ties.
Republicans, meanwhile, acknowledged the timing and circumstances of Mr. Comey’s firing looked bad, though many stopped short of calling for a special counsel.”
-Paul Sonne, Shane Harris, and Carol E. Lee, “Comey Dismissal Upends Probes of Trump Campaign Ties to Russia,” The Wall Street Journal online, May 9, 2017 11:55pm