President Trump, White House Officials Defend Decision of Firing FBI Director

“Because he wasn’t doing a good job, very simply.  He was not doing a good job.”

President Donald Trump is explaining why he fired FBI Director James Comey as some in Washington believe he had another motive for the dismissal.

Either way, it’s highly unusual for a president to remove an FBI director before the end of their ten year appointment.

9&10’s David Lyden has been on top of developments all day.

The White House says Comey was fired over his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s e-mails.

Several republicans say this is a chance for the FBI to get a fresh start but democrats say not so fast.

They say this has more to do with the FBI looking into a possible connection between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The White House spent the day defending the president’s moves while democrats on Capitol Hill expressed concern about what happens next with the investigation into Russian influence in the U.S. election.

"He had lost confidence in director Comey.  And frankly, he had been considering letting director Comey go since the day he was elected,” Sarah Sanders, deputy White House press secretary said.

"He was likely fired because he was getting closer to the truth about the connection between the trump campaign and russia,” Senator Chris Murphy, Connecticut said.

 A big question that remains is who will lead the FBI going forward, a name high on the list is FBI Deputy Director Andrew Mccabe.