Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer said President Trump’s decision to fire FBI Director James Comey in May is “almost inexplicable" and the reasons given for the decision are “implausible.”
"Here's what so odd about it. This is about, according to the deputy attorney general, something that occurred on July the 5th," he said, referring to the July 2016 press conference when Comey announced the Bureau would not recommend criminal charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server.
In his letter, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein noted the “FBI’s reputation and credibility have suffered substantial damage” and outlined the “Director’s handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton’s emails” as the reason for recommending Comey’s removal.
Krauthammer said the reasons given are “implausible.”
"If that was so offensive to the Trump administration, which you would have done during the transition is you would have spoken to Comey and said, ‘We're going to let you go.’ That is when a president could very easily make a decision to have a change that's not unprecedented ... To fire him summarily in the middle of May for something that happened in July is inexplicable."
Krauthammer said the more interesting component to the story is Trump's letter to Comey, where he said, "While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation..."
"Who has been talking about FBI investigations of trump?" he wondered. "This explodes on us without any preparation, without any background. I suspect where this is going to go is to that clause."
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