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Thursday, November 12, 2026Nov 12

Things to know about Trump’s firing of FBI Director Comey

President Donald Trump talks to reporters during a meeting with Dr. Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under President Richard Nixon, in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, May 10, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump talks to reporters during a meeting with Dr. Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under President Richard Nixon, in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, May 10, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) President Donald Trump talks to reporters during a meeting with Dr. Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under President Richard Nixon, in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, May 10, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP) – Things to know about President Donald Trump’s firing of James Comey as FBI director:

THE BIG WHY

Theories abound about why Trump fired Comey – and why now.

Trump said he fired the FBI director because he “wasn’t doing a good job” and on the recommendation of Justice Department officials. The White House pointed to a memo written by a newly confirmed deputy attorney general stating that Comey’s disclosures about the Hillary Clinton email investigation were a “textbook example of what federal prosecutors and agents are taught not to do.”

Democrats – and even some Republicans – found Trump’s explanation implausible.