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Comey Sends Farewell Letter, Avoids Criticizing Trump

James Comey
James Comey / AP
May 10, 2017

Former FBI Director James Comey's farewell letter avoided criticizing President Donald Trump's decision to fire him and assured friends and colleagues that he would be "fine."

"I'm not going to spend time on the decision or the way it was executed," Comey said after noting that he approved of presidents firing FBI directors "for any reason." The letter, obtained by CNN, lamented that he had to leave colleagues at the FBI and described the agency as America's "rock of competence, honesty, and independence."

"I will miss you and the mission deeply," Comey wrote.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer announced on Tuesday that Trump dismissed Comey from his post as FBI director, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

Trump's statement on the firing seemed to ward off accusations of Trump trying to save face in the midst of an FBI investigation into the Trump campaign's alleged connections to Russia during the 2016 election.

The president claimed Comey denied investigating Trump and his ties to Russian meddling.

Trump later said on Wednesday that he fired Comey because he "wasn't doing a good job." That seemed to follow Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's explanation that Comey mishandled the FBI's investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server.