Trump Fires FBI Director James Comey During Comey's LA Speech

LOS ANGELES, CA — FBI Director James Comey was fired by President Donald Trump Tuesday just as he was slated to speak at an FBI recruiting event in Los Angeles.

According to news reports, Comey was addressing employees in Los Angeles when news of his ousting flashed across television screens, informing him he'd been fired. According to the New York Times, the president fired Comey on the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

“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,” Trump said to Comey quoted in the newspaper. “It is essential that we find new leadership for the F.B.I. that restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission,” Mr. Trump wrote.

"Today, President Donald J. Trump informed FBI Director James Comey that he has been terminated and removed from office," the White House statement reads. "President Trump acted based on the clear recommendations of both Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions."

Comey was expected to speak at the event aimed at boosting recruitment of women and minorities from a variety of backgrounds for the federal law enforcement agency.

The event will be hosted by Deirdre Fike, the assistant director in charge of the bureau's Los Angeles field office. Fike is the first woman in the FBI's 100-plus-year history to lead the Los Angeles office.

Comey "is excited to meet with applicants as part of his commitment to diversifying the FBI," according to the agency. The bureau said Comey has made diversity a priority and a core value of the FBI's mission.

Patch's email to the FBI field office in Los Angeles on whether Comey will still attend the event has not been answered.

The FBI employs 13,538 agents. Most of them are white, while 2,252 are members of black, Latino, Asian, American Indian/Alaska Native and other ethnic groups.

Comey was appointed director of the bureau by President Barack Obama in 2013. In that capacity, he was responsible for overseeing the FBI's investigation of the Hillary Clinton emails, and his role in last year's presidential election is still the subject of debate, with Clinton partially attributing her loss to Comey's probe.

Story By Patch Staffers Alexander Nguyen and Paige Austin; Photo of FBI Director James Comey courtesy of SXSW