Report: New Chief Of Staff John Kelly Considered Resigning Over Comey Firing
- 7 years ago
President Trump’s new chief of staff, retired Gen. John Kelly, is said to have considered resigning from his prior post as secretary of homeland security over Trump’s firing of former FBI director James Comey.
President Trump’s new White House chief of staff, retired Gen. John Kelly, is said to have considered resigning from his prior post as secretary of homeland security over Trump’s firing of former FBI director James Comey.
According to CNN, two inside sources told the network that Kelly had called Comey soon after news of his dismissal broke; during the conversation, Kelly reportedly mentioned the possibility of resigning because, as one of the sources has said, “John was angry and hurt by what he saw and the way (Comey) was treated.”
However, Comey advised him against doing so, though the CNN report adds that “both sources cautioned that it was unclear how serious Kelly...was about resigning himself.”
The piece goes on to explain, based on the inside accounts, that “...Comey and Kelly are not close friends but that they had a professional relationship and a deep mutual respect for each other.”
The former FBI director was fired in May, with the New York Times reporting that he was in Los Angeles at the time when he saw the news flash on a TV screen and initially thought it was a joke.
Several Democrats and Republicans spoke out against the decision at the time including GOP Senator Jeff Flake who tweeted, “I’ve spent the last several hours trying to find an acceptable rationale for the timing of Comey’s firing. I just can’t do it.”
While the White House initially attributed the move to recommendations by attorney general Jeff Sessions and deputy attorney general Rod J. Rosenstein, Trump later admitted to NBC News that he had decided to let Comey go, in part, because of Russia-related investigation.
Kelly nonetheless remained as head of the homeland security department until recently, when he was chosen to be the new White House chief of staff.
During his swearing-in ceremony Monday, Trump said of Kelly, “He will do a spectacular job, I have no doubt, as chief of staff. What he's done in terms of homeland security is record shattering.”
President Trump’s new White House chief of staff, retired Gen. John Kelly, is said to have considered resigning from his prior post as secretary of homeland security over Trump’s firing of former FBI director James Comey.
According to CNN, two inside sources told the network that Kelly had called Comey soon after news of his dismissal broke; during the conversation, Kelly reportedly mentioned the possibility of resigning because, as one of the sources has said, “John was angry and hurt by what he saw and the way (Comey) was treated.”
However, Comey advised him against doing so, though the CNN report adds that “both sources cautioned that it was unclear how serious Kelly...was about resigning himself.”
The piece goes on to explain, based on the inside accounts, that “...Comey and Kelly are not close friends but that they had a professional relationship and a deep mutual respect for each other.”
The former FBI director was fired in May, with the New York Times reporting that he was in Los Angeles at the time when he saw the news flash on a TV screen and initially thought it was a joke.
Several Democrats and Republicans spoke out against the decision at the time including GOP Senator Jeff Flake who tweeted, “I’ve spent the last several hours trying to find an acceptable rationale for the timing of Comey’s firing. I just can’t do it.”
While the White House initially attributed the move to recommendations by attorney general Jeff Sessions and deputy attorney general Rod J. Rosenstein, Trump later admitted to NBC News that he had decided to let Comey go, in part, because of Russia-related investigation.
Kelly nonetheless remained as head of the homeland security department until recently, when he was chosen to be the new White House chief of staff.
During his swearing-in ceremony Monday, Trump said of Kelly, “He will do a spectacular job, I have no doubt, as chief of staff. What he's done in terms of homeland security is record shattering.”