May 10 (UPI) — James Comey, fired by President Donald Trump as FBI director Tuesday, told the bureau’s staff and friends Wednesday in a farewell letter “I will miss you and the mission deeply.”
“I’m not going to spend time on the decision or the way it was executed,” said Comey, who was hired by President Barack Obama four years ago in a 10-year-term. “I hope you won’t either. It is done, and I will be fine.”
The letter was obtained by several media outlets, including CNN and ABC News.
Comey was leading the FBI’s investigation of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible ties to Trump’s campaign staff.
Comey asked for more money and personnel for the investigation in a meeting last week with the Justice Department’s deputy, Rod Rosenstein, The New York Times first reported.
Sarah Isgur Flores, the department’s top spokeswoman, said reports of him asking for more funds or resources are “totally false.”
Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has recused himself on matters involving Russia’s hacking, recommended the firing to Trump.
“I have long believed that a president can fire an FBI director for any reason, or for no reason at all,” Comey wrote. “I’m not going to spend time on the decision or the way it was executed.”
Comey was meeting with staff in Los Angeles when he learned of the firing from television screens in the field office flashing the news.
“It is very hard to leave a group of people who are committed only to doing the right thing,” he said in the latter. “My hope is that you will continue to live our values and the mission of protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution. If you do that, you too will be sad when you leave, and the American people will be safer.”
Before becoming the FBI’s seventh director, Comey worked in the Justice Department from 2002-05 and worked in non-government until 2013.
The 56-year-old Comey ended the letter by writing: “Working with you has been one of the great joys of my life. Thank you for that gift.
Read former FBI Director James Comey’s farewell letter after being fired by President Trump. http://cnn.it/2pAFmrP
