Ohio Politicians Shocked By FBI Director James Comey's Firing

CLEVELAND, OH — Ohio politicians have expressed shock over the firing of FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday. Democrats have been quick to call for an independent investigation in the wake of the termination. The state's Republicans were mostly silent, with a few notable exceptions.

Ohio's top-ranked Democrat, Senator Sherrod Brown, noted in a statement that Comey's tenure at the the head of the FBI has been marred by questionable judgement. He did say that the timing of the firing was curious and raised serious questions about the independence and integrity of the FBI.

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Representative Tim Ryan, D-13, released one of the more fiery statements saying Comey's firing was "another disturbing development in the matter of Russia's meddling in the 2016 election, and President Trump's lack of transparency regarding his financial entanglements and dealings with Russia."

"His firing signals a very dark day for the independent nature of the FBI's work, and further undermines the American people's trust in our institutions. The time has long since passed to investigate this matter in an independent, nonpartisan way. This development makes clear that we must appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Trump-Russia ties. The American people deserve the truth,” said Ryan.

Representative Marcy Kaptur, D-9, took a break from stumping for legislation on behalf of machinists' pensions to comment on Comey's firing on Twitter.

Kaptur wasn't the only Ohio representative to use Twitter to comment on Comey's firing.

Ohio's Republicans were mostly quiet in the immediate aftermath of Comey's firing. The exception to that is Governor John Kasich, who has never been shy in criticizing the current administration. In a statement on Twitter, Kasich said he was "extremely troubled" by Comey's dismissal. You can see his full statement below.

Senator Rob Portman said he believed the public's trust in the FBI would erode given the strange circumstances and explanation surrounding Comey's termination. He urged the Trump administration to provide more context and reasoning behind the decision to fire the FBI director.

He added that he hopes Comey's successor will be thoughtfully selected.

You can read more about Comey's termination by clicking here.

Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images News/Getty Images