Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware says timing of Comey firing ‘suspect’

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 Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., talks on a phone in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015. (Cliff Owen/AP Photo)

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., talks on a phone in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015. (Cliff Owen/AP Photo)

Just last week, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware sat in on FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee as he defended his decision to tell Congress in October that he was revisiting the bureau’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails.

Comey was abruptly fired on Tuesday by President Donald Trump who cited his handling Clinton’s email scandal. Coons is questioning the timing of Comey’s dismissal — along with the rationale. 

“The idea that President Trump abruptly decided he needed to fire the FBI director because he was concerned over how Hillary Clinton was mistreated in the election strains credibility,” Coons said on WHYY’s “Morning Edition” Wednesday.

“One possibility is that grand jury subpoenas have just been issued by the FBI investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian Intelligence or Russian leadership. Another possibility, of course, is that the president had simply lost confidence in the FBI director,” he added. “The timing seems very suspect.”

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Coons also questioned how Attorney General Jeff Sessions authorized Comey’s firing.  Sessions has recused himself from the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

“It seems like a baldly inappropriate move,” Coons said. “This is a clearly inappropriate step by the attorney general.”

Listen to the entire interview with Sen. Coons below.

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