Democrats in the United States are accusing President Trump of "obstruction of justice" after he fired the FBI Director who was leading the investigation into the Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia.
James Comey was ousted after misleading Congress last week in testimony relating to Hillary Clinton's use of a private e-mail server.
But Democrats and some Republicans say they're dismayed by the President's decision to oust him at a sensitive moment in the Russia probe.
From Washington, Simon Marks reports.
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This was a bolt from the blue….and not even the FBI Director James Comey saw it coming.
He was in Los Angeles, preparing to address an event at which the FBI was seeking new recruits….when a Trump official handed him a letter saying that his career with the Bureau was over.
We knew something was up earlier in the day when White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked whether President Trump still had confidence in Mr. Comey.
That didn't sound good.
And now we know that behind the scenes the die was cast….the President justifying his decision based on a memo he received from top Justice Department officials who say the FBI Director was wrong last summer when he failed to prosecute Hillary Clinton over her use of a private e-mail server when she was Secretary of State.
Wrong, in other words, to ignore the demands of those Trump supporters who throughout the campaign insisted of Mrs. Clinton that it was time to "lock her up".
Democrats smelled an immediate rat….and accused President Trump of obstructing justice by derailing the career of the FBI chief investigating the Trump team's alleged collusion with Russia during last year's campaign.
The top Democrat in the Senate, Charles Shumer.
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The White House insisted there's nothing to see here.
Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders who - on numerous occasions has lied to reporters on a wide range of issues - told Fox News it's time for everyone to stop digging into the Russia allegations….and justified Mr. Comey's firing.
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But there is no evidence any of that is true, and the White House appears to have been shaken by the scale of the reaction to Mr. Comey's firing.
Even several leading Republicans in the US Senate expressed their dismay with the President's decision, calling Mr. Comey a committed public servant.
A man excoriated by Democrats for reopening the investigation into Mrs. Clinton's e-mail….contributing, they say, to her election demise….is now being lionized by them as a victim of President Trump's determination to derail the Russia investigation at all costs.
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