FBI agents strongly dispute the White House assertion that FBI agents didn't trust or like James Comey


Among the many reasons the Trump administration is giving for President Trump's decision to abruptly fire FBI Director James Comey is that FBI agents no longer trusted their boss. Comey had "lost the confidence" of the FBI "rank-and-file" and had "politicized" his role, Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told CBS News Tuesday night. She repeated the assertion during Wednesday's press briefing. As CNN's Jim Sciutto reported Wednesday afternoon, that just doesn't seem to be true.
"Veteran agents and other FBI employees described a dark mood throughout the bureau, where morale was already low from months of being pummeled over dueling investigations surrounding the 2016 presidential election," reports The New York Times. "Some agents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in interviews that they were shocked and demoralized," The Wall Street Journal adds.
The Washington Post described "raw anger, and some fear," at the FBI. It was "a gut punch," said Thomas O'Connor, the president of the FBI Agents Association. "We didn't see it coming, and we don't think Director Comey did anything that would lead to this." The Post elaborated:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Many employees said they were furious about the firing, saying the circumstances of his dismissal did more damage to the FBI's independence than anything Comey did in his three-plus years in the job. One intelligence official who works on Russian espionage matters said they were more determined than ever to pursue such cases. Another said Comey's firing and the subsequent comments from the White House are attacks that won't soon be forgotten. Trump had "essentially declared war on a lot of people at the FBI," one official said. "I think there will be a concerted effort to respond over time in kind." [The Washington Post]
FBI employees told The Wall Street Journal that Comey was "protective of the agency," independent, and liked by most agents. "We will keep working, obviously, but this could do some real damage," said one top agent. "It is good to know the director has your back and is not going to fold under pressure." The New York City field office, the FBI's largest, was described as "somber" and "like a funeral parlor" on Wednesday.
Trump "is weighing going to the FBI headquarters in Washington on Friday as a show of his commitment to the bureau," an official told The New York Times, "though he is not expected to discuss the Russia investigation."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
What is the Federal Reserve and what does it do?
The explainer The decisions made by the United States' central banking system have very real economic effects
-
'Natural disasters don't happen only in the movies'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump vs. the arts: Fresh strikes against PBS and the NEA
Feature Trump wants to cut funding for public broadcasting and the arts, which would save a little but cost a lot for red states
-
Trump vows to lift Syria sanctions
speed read The move would help the new government stabilize the country following years of civil war
-
Senate rejects Trump's Library of Congress takeover
speed read Congress resisted the president's attempts to control 'the legislative branch's premier research body'
-
Hamas frees US hostage in deal sidelining Israel
speed read Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier, was the final living US citizen held by the militant group
-
White Afrikaners land in US as Trump-declared refugees
speed read An exception was made to Trump's near-total ban on admitting refugees for the white South Africans
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs