Read President Trump's brazen letter informing James Comey he'd been fired

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

President Trump on Tuesday fired FBI Director James Comey, becoming only the second president in history to dismiss the leader of the FBI. The decision came at the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who cited Comey's handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server as reason for the termination.

In his letter to Comey informing the FBI director he'd been terminated, Trump wrote, "While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau." Under Comey, the FBI was conducting an investigation into Russia's interference in last year's election, including whether Trump or his associates knowingly colluded with the Russians.

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Kimberly Alters

Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.