Don't cry for James Comey. Be nauseous for America.

By firing the FBI director — as bad as he was — President Trump proved he has something serious to hide

James Comey.
(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

President Trump's sudden decision to fire FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday was a genuine bombshell from an administration that seems to produce one on a daily basis. Nobody should shed any tears for Comey, who deserved his fate. But the real reason he was fired should make Americans more than a little nauseous.

The irony of the firing is that according to its stated reasons, it was eminently justified. In a letter explaining the firing, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein wrote: "I cannot defend the director's handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton's emails, and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken." Rosenstein's argument is very strong.

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Scott Lemieux

Scott Lemieux is a professor of political science at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y., with a focus on the Supreme Court and constitutional law. He is a frequent contributor to the American Prospect and blogs for Lawyers, Guns and Money.