President Trump fired FBI Director James B. Comey, who was fewer than four years into what was supposed to be a 10-year term, on Tuesday evening. His ouster, which purportedly came because he mishandled the investigation of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email server, is just the the second firing of an FBI director in history — the other by President Bill Clinton for ethical violations.
The firing comes as the FBI is investigating the Trump campaign’s ties to Russian officials. The dismissal now allows Trump to replace Comey, who was appointed by Obama but has served under presidents of both parties, with his own appointee.
That potential conflict of interest — an ally of the president, whether a Trump appointee or another member of his party, controlling the agency that is investigating Trump — is echoed across the different agencies and committees with a hand in the investigation.
That doesn’t mean, of course, that those individuals are actually shirking their responsibilities — just that they don't appear to be an unbiased third party.
The intelligence agencies’ directors will be Trump appointees
The FBI, which will eventually be run by a Trump appointee, has the largest role in intelligence gathering regarding the Trump-Russia inquiry and broader authority to investigate U.S. citizens than the other intelligence agencies. The agency’s findings go to higher-ups in the Justice Department, and some information also goes to Congress.
The FBI director has significant power to determine how thorough the investigation will be. He or she can decide on the size and scope of the investigation. The director can also refuse to cooperate with congressional inquiries, among other things.
Trump appointees
Republicans
No ties to Trump
FORMER
FBI DIRECTOR
James B. Comey
Oversaw the FBI investigation from its inception in July until he was fired on Tuesday, purportedly for mishandling the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private email server.
replaced
by
ACTING
FBI DIRECTOR
Andrew McCabe
Took over Comey’s role upon his firing. Was Comey’s deputy under Obama and Trump, but is expected to be replaced by a Trump appointee soon.
will be
replaced by
FBI
DIRECTOR
To be appointed
Trump appointees
Republicans
No ties to Trump
FORMER
FBI DIRECTOR
ACTING
FBI DIRECTOR
FBI
DIRECTOR
replaced
by
will be
replaced by
James B. Comey
Andrew McCabe
To be appointed
Oversaw the FBI investigation from its inception in July until he was fired on Tuesday, purportedly for mishandling the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private email server.
Took over Comey’s role upon his firing. Was Comey’s deputy under Obama and Trump, but is expected to be replaced by a Trump appointee soon.
Trump appointees
Republicans
No ties to Trump
FORMER
FBI DIRECTOR
ACTING
FBI DIRECTOR
FBI
DIRECTOR
replaced by
will be
replaced by
James B. Comey
Andrew McCabe
To be appointed
Oversaw the FBI investigation from its inception in July until he was fired on Tuesday, purportedly for mishandling the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private email server.
Took over Comey’s role upon his firing. Was Comey’s deputy under Obama and Trump, but is expected to be replaced by a Trump appointee soon.
[Podcast: Can the president fire the FBI director?]
Other intelligence agencies also have a role in this intelligence gathering, though they focus more on foreign agents. The Director of National Intelligence oversees a large swath of intelligence officials, most notably the CIA and NSA directors. All of these officials do not report their findings to the Justice Department but do relay information to Congress, either at their discretion or in response to subpoenas.
Much like in the case of the FBI, these directors have discretion to put fewer resources toward the investigation or minimize cooperation with Congress.
DIRECTOR OF
NATIONAL
INTELLIGENCE
Daniel Coats
CIA
DIRECTOR
Mike Pompeo
NSA
DIRECTOR
Mike Rogers
CIA
DIRECTOR
DIRECTOR OF
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
NSA
DIRECTOR
Mike Pompeo
Daniel Coats
Mike Rogers
The Justice Department leaders are Trump appointees
Based on the evidence turned up by the FBI’s investigation, the Justice Department is able to file and prosecute criminal charges. The person leading that investigation has significant discretion over what those charges are, so they could minimize the consequences any wrongdoers face. Though, if the evidence was stark, there would be a lot of political pressure to file significant charges.
FORMER ACTING
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Sally Yates
Appointed by Obama and oversaw investigation for first 10 days of the Trump administration, before she was fired for refusing to defend the travel ban.
replaced
by
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Jeff Sessions
Recused himself from the Russia probe in early March after reports that he had undisclosed contact with the Russian ambassador.
replaced
by
Acting
Deputy Attorney
General
Dana Boente
Oversaw the investigation after Sessions recused himself but before the Deputy Attorney General was confirmed. Now heads a Justice Department unit working on the investigation.
replaced
by
DEPUTY ATTORNEY
GENERAL
Rod Rosenstein
Appointed by Trump and confirmed by the Senate in a 94-to-6 vote. Currently overseeing the investigation.
Acting
Deputy Attorney
General
FORMER
ACTING ATTORNEY
GENERAL
DEPUTY
ATTORNEY
GENERAL
ATTORNEY
GENERAL
Sally Yates
Jeff Sessions
Dana Boente
Rod Rosenstein
Appointed by Obama and oversaw investigation for first 10 days of
the Trump administration, before she was fired for refusing to defend the travel ban.
Recused himself from the Russia probe in early March after reports that he had undisclosed contact with the Russian ambassador.
Oversaw the investigation after Sessions recused himself but before the Deputy Attorney General was confirmed. Now heads a Justice Department unit working on the investigation.
Appointed by Trump and confirmed by the Senate in a 94-to-6 vote. Currently overseeing the investigation.
DEPUTY
ATTORNEY GENERAL
FORMER ACTING
ATTORNEY GENERAL
ATTORNEY
GENERAL
Acting Deputy
Attorney General
replaced by
replaced by
replaced by
Sally Yates
Jeff Sessions
Dana Boente
Rod Rosenstein
Appointed by Trump and confirmed by the Senate in a 94-to-6 vote. Currently overseeing the investigation.
Appointed by Obama and oversaw investigation for first
10 days of the Trump administration, before she was fired for refusing to defend the travel ban.
Recused himself from the Russia probe in early March after reports that he had undisclosed contact with the Russian ambassador.
Oversaw the investigation after Sessions recused himself but before the Deputy Attorney General was confirmed. Now heads a Justice Department unit working on the investigation.
Trump’s party controls Congress
The House and Senate’s investigations have a broader scope than the DOJ’s and can look into actions that are problematic or unethical, not just illegal. They can respond to wrongdoing by making the results of their investigation public and creating political pressure for the official in question to be dismissed. Though it’s rarely done, especially to officials of the same party, they could also impeach officials.
Congressional Republicans have a clear stake in minimizing the reach of the Trump-Russia investigation. If the investigation’s results cast Trump in a negative light, it would reflect poorly on the party as a whole, making it harder to pass legislation or get reelected. Since Republicans control both houses of Congress, the scope and content of the investigation is completely up to their members leading the intelligence committees. So, it’s easy to tone the investigation down if there’s not too much political pressure.
That doesn’t mean they will — the intelligence committees have a long history of bipartisan cooperation. Many Republican lawmakers have expressed serious concern about Russia’s alleged interference in the presidential election and how Trump has responded to it. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), for instance, who’s running the Senate’s investigation, said he was “troubled by the timing and reasoning of Director Comey’s termination.”
House
INTELLIGENCE
COMMITTEE CHAIR
Rep. Devin
Nunes (R-Calif.)
Recused himself in early April after allegedly telling President Trump and the public classified information about the investigation.
replaced
by
INTELLIGENCE
COMMITTEE MEMBER
Rep. K. Michael
Conaway (R-Tex.)
Currently overseeing the House investigation.
Senate
Intelligence
committee chair
Sen. Richard
Burr (R-N.C.)
Overseeing the Senate investigation, which got more public attention after Nunes’s transgressions jeopardized the integrity of the House investigation.
House
Senate
INTELLIGENCE
COMMITTEE CHAIR
INTELLIGENCE
COMMITTEE MEMBER
Intelligence
committee chair
replaced
by
Rep. Devin
Nunes (R-Calif.)
Rep. K. Michael
Conaway (R-Tex.)
Sen. Richard
Burr (R-N.C.)
Recused himself in early April after allegedly telling President Trump and the public classified information about the investigation.
Currently overseeing the House investigation.
Overseeing the Senate investigation, which got more public attention after Nunes’s transgressions jeopardized the integrity of the House investigation.
House
Senate
INTELLIGENCE
COMMITTEE CHAIR
INTELLIGENCE
COMMITTEE MEMBER
Intelligence
committee chair
replaced by
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.)
Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-Tex.)
Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.)
Recused himself in early April after allegedly telling President Trump and the public classified information about the investigation.
Currently overseeing the House investigation.
Overseeing the Senate investigation, which got more public attention after Nunes’s transgressions jeopardized the integrity of the House investigation.
[Comey firing: Reaction from members of Congress on FBI director’s dismissal]
Citing these conflicts of interest throughout the system, lawmakers (primarily but not exclusively Democrats) have called for a special prosecutor or independent commission to take control of the Russia investigation.
Such a move would increase the independence of the investigation, but it may not be enough. The independent party may rely in part on intelligence collected by the FBI or other agencies — organizations that, after Comey’s dismissal, will soon all be overseen by Trump’s allies.
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