Newly Obtained Emails Show FBI Reaction to Comey Firing

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

When Donald Trump fired James Comey as FBI director last May, the White House claimed the bureau had lost faith in its chief. But newly obtained email messages sent to FBI staffers from top bureau officials around the country after the termination discuss the “pain” and “loss” that employees were feeling, and show how people scrambled to learn more information about the firing.

The national security blog Lawfare obtained the emails through the Freedom of Information Act. The website said Monday that it received 103 pages of records over the weekend. The editor of Lawfare, Benjamin Wittes, is a close friend of Comey’s.

In the wake of the May 9, 2017 firing, Renae McDermott, the special agent in charge of the Knoxville field office, wrote to her staff, “We are not going to let this defeat us and like I said it will only make us stronger. Unexpected news such as this is hard to understand but I know you all know our Director stood for what is right and what is true!!!” She added, “He truly made us better when we needed it the most.”

In another email, Michael DeLeon, the special agent in charge in Phoenix, called the firing “unfortunate.” “We all felt the pain associated with the loss of a leader who was fully engaged and took great pride in the FBI organization and our employees,” he wrote. “Simply stated, Director Comey will be missed.” In a follow-up email, he added that “everyone is surprised and we are certainly disappointed with the events surrounding this matter.”

On the morning of the day of the firing, Comey had visited the field office in Jacksonville. After his termination, the special agent in charge there, Charles Spencer, wrote to his team, “Director Comey was a man of integrity and vision, he made a lasting impact on FBI leadership, diversity and our embracing of new technology.”

The assistant director in charge at the Los Angeles office, where Comey was visiting when the news media began reporting on his firing, also praised the outgoing director. That official, Deirdre Fike, wrote that she would compile a book of letters from staff members to give to Comey, and she spoke of Comey’s “grace, dignity and character we have all observed through his leadership.” Fike wrote that the New Haven office was also planning to compile messages.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/newly-obtained-emails-show-fbi-reaction-to-comey-firing/ar-BBIJKzN?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=edgsp

[Ohiogal]

1. I will never forgive him

for what he did to Hillary. Ever.

[tanyev]

2. Now that we know DOTUS was angry that Comey got to ride the government plane back home,

I'd be willing to bet that it was no coincidence that the letter firing him was delivered while he was gone and that someone in the White House promptly alerted the media.