The letter was written in the days before the May 9 firing of Comey, but was held after objections from the president's lawyer and others, according to two other people familiar with the process who were not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. On that day, the White House released a different letter announcing Comey's firing, one signed by Deputy Attorney General Attorney Rod Rosenstein that cited the handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation as a basis for Comey's dismissal.