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Law-Enforcement Vets Split on Comey But Think Firing Could Chill Probe

By BOB HENNELLY
Posted 5/15/17

President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey, who was investigating his campaign’s ties with Russia, set off a lively debate among investigators and prosecutors.

Initially, the Trump White House said that the genesis of the stunning May 9 dismissal was a critical memo by Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein regarding Mr. Comey’s unorthodox public statements about the FBI investigation of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while Secretary of State. But in an interview broadcast two nights later, Mr. Trump told NBC’s Lester Holt that he had planned to dismiss Mr. Comey long before Mr. Rosenstein weighed in. Subsequent reporting indicated that at a private dinner, Mr. Trump allegedly asked Mr. Co­mey if he would be loyal to him and the FBI Director said he would be loyal to the nation.

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