Trump to FBI Director James Comey: You’re fired

President Donald Trump on Tuesday abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey in the fallout over Comey's probe of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's emails last year.

Trump said Comey was no longer able to effectively lead the agency, and a search for a new FBI director was to begin "immediately," the White House said in a statement.

In a letter, Trump told Comey: "You are hereby terminated and removed from office, effective immediately."

"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."

"It is essential that we find new leadership for the FBI that restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission," Trump said.

Comey has been embroiled in controversy surrounding his probe into whether Clinton's use of a private email server while US secretary of state during President Barack Obama's first term compromised national security.

FBI directors are appointed for a single 10-year term. The 56-year-old Comey, who is popular among rank-and-file agents, was appointed four years ago.

He said in July that the case should be closed without prosecution, but then declared - 11 days before the 8 November election - that he had reopened the investigation because of a discovery of a new trove of Clinton-related emails.

It was a decision Democrats believe cost Clinton the White House.

Comey 'mistaken'

The White House released a memo by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein about Comey's actions.

"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 wrote.

Rosenstein identified several areas in which he said Comey had erred, saying it was wrong of him to "usurp" then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch's authority by announcing the initial conclusion of the email case on 5 July.

Comey "announced his own conclusions about the nation's most sensitive criminal investigation, without the authorization of duly appointed Justice Department leaders," Rosenstein wrote. Comey also "ignored another longstanding principle" by holding a news conference to "release derogatory information about the subject of a declined criminal investigation".

Comey told the Senate Judiciary Committee last Wednesday it made him "mildly nauseous" to think that his announcement of the reopening of an investigation into Clinton's emails affected the 2016 presidential election, but he had no regrets and would make the same decision again.

In a statement, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who has repeatedly criticised Trump, welcomed Comey's dismissal.

"Given the recent controversies surrounding the director, I believe a fresh start will serve the FBI and the nation well," Graham said in a statement. "I encourage the President to select the most qualified professional available who will serve our nation's interests."

FBI probes Russian collusion with Trump campaign

The firing comes at a time when the Trump administration is under investigation by the FBI and congressional committees, after US intelligence agencies concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a hacking of Democratic political groups to try to sway the election toward Trump.

The main investigations are being conducted by congressional Intelligence Committees, although Democrats have clamoured for a special prosecutor or independent committee. They argue that congressional committees are too partisan to conduct credible probes.

Comey testified in the House on 20 March that the agency was investigating potential links between Trump associates and Moscow's attempts to tilt the election.

His dismissal will raise questions about Trump's motives.

'Nixonian'

It will also prompt parallels with Richard Nixon's decision to unceremoniously fire his attorney general, an event that plunged his presidency deeper into crisis.

“This is Nixonian,” tweeted Democratic Senator Bob Casey, calling for appointing a special prosecutor to continue investigating Russian interference in US elections.

"This is nothing less than Nixonian," charged Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, who called Trump's official justification for firing Comey "absurd".

Senator John McCain, a Republican, disagreed with the Comey firing and said in a statement that there needs to be a special committee to investigate allegations of Russian collusion.

Top US Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said firing FBI chief Comey was "big mistake" in a televised statement, and called for an independent prosecutor.

In his first statement after the dismissal, Trump criticised Schumer in a tweet. 

Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin went to the Senate floor on Tuesday to urge the White House to clarify whether the FBI investigation of Russian interference in the presidential campaign would continue now that Comey has been fired.

"Any attempt to stop or undermine this FBI investigation would raise grave constitutional issues," Durbin said. "We await clarification by the White House as soon as possible as to whether this investigation will continue."