Trump fires FBI director
President Trump fired the FBI Director James B. Comey Tuesday over the way he handled the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s emails during the 2016 election.
Comey’s immediate dismissal was a “stunning development for a president that benefited from the FBI investigation of the Democratic nominee during the 2016 campaign,” the New York Times reports.
The FBI is also separately investigating the possibility of collusion between Trump campaign members and Russia in order to influence the election. Thus, Trump’s abrupt and unexpected decision to fire Comey raised questions over whether the president was trying to influence the Russian investigation.
Trump responded by saying he was following recommendations from the Justice Department which criticized Comey’s investigation of Clinton.
“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,” Mr. Trump said in a letter to Comey, dated this Tuesday.
Comey was three years into his 10-year term.
In the same letter to Comey, Trump wrote, “It is essential that we find new leadership for the FBI that restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission.”
South Korea puts power back into liberal hands
South Korea elected Moon Jae-in as the country’s new President on Tuesday, the New York Times reports.
Jae-in, 64, is the son of North Korean refugees and a human rights lawyer who favors dialogue with North Korea.
His victory, which returns power to the nation’s liberal party and leaves the conservative establishment in “disarray” with its former leader in jail, falls after a national drama involving a corruption scandal, mass protests and the first impeachment of a South Korean president in almost 60 years.
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As the Trump administration urges the world to increase pressure on Pyongyang, Jae-in faces the challenge of balancing relations with the United States and China while keeping his promise to try to ease tensions with North Korea.
His election will scramble the geopolitics over North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, the New York Times reports.
When it comes to Trump’s plans, North Korea could become a critical ally, which would break ranks and take a “conciliatory approach.”
Jae-in called for a review of the Pentagon’s deployment of an antimissile defense system in South Korea that the Chinese government denounced, arguing that Washington’s reliance on sanctions and pressure has been “ineffective” and that it is time to engage in dialogue with the north.
Celia Raney is a news reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Celia_Raney.
