James Comey firing: Portends coming crisis? or nothing?

How To Know if The Trump-Russia Story Has Momentum

Excerpt:

When the media talks about President Trump and Russia, it often does so in terms of dominoes falling or pressure building incrementally on the administration. With an investigative story here, a firing or a resignation under suspicious circumstances there, it’s easy for people to assume that eventually something will give, the way Richard Nixon finally broke and resigned after the Watergate story gradually developed from 1972 through 1974. 

It’s certainly possible that the current investigation will build in that same way. The White House’s ostensible justification for firing FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday is that he mishandled the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server. But canning him when he was in the midst of an investigation into the Trump administration’s ties to Russia is an eyebrow-raising move, especially given that the Washington Post reported that the firing came just a few days after Comey asked for more resources for his inquiry. A person can be somewhat skeptical of the progress of the Trump-Russia story so far and still think that this particular development was a big deal.

But it’s also possible that Comey’s firing is just the latest in a series of short, exciting bursts of activity that don’t ultimately produce any lasting momentum or do all that much to undermine Trump. This has mostly been the pattern of these Trump-Russia stories so far.

Comment: If public opinion on Trump sinks, and Senate Republicans abandon him; there could be a special prosecutor to investigate Trump-Russia.

Just obtained First on CNN --- Comey writes farewell letter to his former staff and friends pic.twitter.com/Y0zy8NAo6J

— Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) May 11, 2017

The outrage

Amy Klobuchar is questioning the president's reasoning for firing former FBI Director James Comey. https://t.co/l4X4SlYSt2 pic.twitter.com/ciFRO4mJkg

— Cody Nelson (@codyleenelson) May 11, 2017

The timing & circumstances surrounding President Trump's dismissal of FBI Director James Comey are very suspicious. https://t.co/A83uqDmH33 pic.twitter.com/1kqwBlPBPk

— Sen. Al Franken (@SenFranken) May 10, 2017

First Pres Trump fired Sally Yates, then Preet Bharara. Now #Comey. Doesn't seem like an accident. We must have a special prosecutor.

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) May 9, 2017

Was James Comey's firing part of a cover-up? "I think that there's just no doubt," Sen. Elizabeth Warren says https://t.co/WNBHmd0hiQ

— CNN (@CNN) May 10, 2017

Will the law answer to the president, or the president to the law? This is not a drill, writes @DavidFrum https://t.co/opS6fkd1fE pic.twitter.com/jagy1eInH3

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) May 10, 2017

The "well deserved"

Sen. @RandPaul: "I think the firing of Comey couldn't have come soon enough." pic.twitter.com/ZS2ZKQ0UdN

— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) May 10, 2017

WSJ: Comey’s Deserved Dismissal - The FBI chief forfeited his credibility with his 2016 interventions.

It’s healthy to be skeptical. But it’s possible to take skepticism too far. https://t.co/49rxM8haAd

— The Nation (@thenation) May 10, 2017

What concerns Wall Street

Wall Street worried constitutional crisis may delay tax cuts https://t.co/p5a4DBZxIB

— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) May 11, 2017

The Nixon comparison:

.@CokieRoberts: Comey firing feels like déjà vu all over again for those who lived through the Nixon administration https://t.co/3BqWPWWQcn pic.twitter.com/9A3duaIoNu

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 10, 2017

Unfair to Nixon, who was for all his flaws a serious person.@RichardNixon103 @NixonValet https://t.co/v6KnwdA11u

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) May 11, 2017

Just in:

First on CNN: In ltr to FBI staff, Comey says he's "long believed a president can fire an FBI director for any reason or no reason at all" pic.twitter.com/AxKWwyk1PZ

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) May 11, 2017