US President Donald Trump has abruptly fired FBI director James Comey, ousting the nation's top law enforcement official during an ongoing investigation into whether Mr Trump's campaign had ties to Russia's election meddling.

Key points: Action followed recommendation from Attorney-General Jeff Sessions

Action followed recommendation from Attorney-General Jeff Sessions Mr Trump made no mention of Mr Comey's role in the Clinton investigation

Mr Trump made no mention of Mr Comey's role in the Clinton investigation The White House will begin looking for a new FBI director immediately

Mr Trump said the move, which shocked Washington, resulted from Mr Comey's handling of the election-year email scandal involving then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

In March Mr Comey confirmed the FBI was investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives accused of interfering in the US presidential election.

"Today [Mr Trump] informed FBI Director James Comey that he has been terminated and removed from office," a statement from Press Secretary Sean Spicer said.

"President Trump acted based on the clear recommendations of both Deputy Attorney-General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney-General Jeff Sessions."

"The FBI is one of our nation's most cherished and respected institutions and today will mark a new beginning for our crown jewel of law enforcement," Mr Trump said in a separate statement.

In a letter to Mr Comey, Mr Trump said the firing was necessary to restore "public trust and confidence" in the FBI.

"While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgement of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the bureau," Mr Trump told Comey in a letter.

Mr Comey has been criticised for his public comments on Mrs Clinton's email practices, including a pair of letters he sent to Congress in the closing days of last year's campaign.

After the sacking Mr Trump made no mention of Mr Comey's role in the Clinton investigation, which she has blamed in part for the election result.

But in announcing the firing, the White House circulated a scathing memo, written by Mr Rosenstein, criticising Mr Comey's handling of the Clinton probe, including the director's decision to hold a news conference announcing its findings and releasing "derogatory information" about Mr Clinton.

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Hours after Mr Comey's sacking, CNN reported that sources confirmed federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas seeking business records from people who worked with former Trump administration US national security adviser Michael Flynn when he was a private citizen.

Mr Flynn, a former adviser to the Trump campaign, was sacked by Mr Trump after he lied about his connections with the Russian ambassador during the transition.

Mr Trump will now appoint Mr Comey's successor, and the White House has said the search has already begun.

Mr Comey's deputy, Andrew McCabe, will likely take over in the interim.

Questions raised over timing of sacking

The White House made the stunning announcement shortly after the FBI corrected a sentence in Mr Comey's sworn testimony on the matter on Capitol Hill last week.

Mr Comey told senators that Huma Abedin, a top aide to Hillary Clinton, had sent "hundreds and thousands" of emails to her husband's laptop, including some with classified information.

On Tuesday, the FBI said in a two-page letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee that only "a small number" of the thousands of emails found on the laptop had been forwarded there, while most had simply been backed up from electronic devices.

Most of the email chains on the laptop containing classified information were not the result of forwarding, the FBI said.

The firing of an FBI director is exceedingly rare, with Mr Comey only the second chief to be sacked.

In 1993, William Sessions was fired as FBI chief by then-president Bill Clinton amid allegations of ethical lapses.

Democrats slammed the move and called for Mr Comey to immediately be summoned to testify to Congress about the status of the Trump-Russia investigation.

They likened the dismissal to former president Richard Nixon's firing of an independent special prosecutor during the Watergate investigation.

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"President Trump has catastrophically compromised the FBI's ongoing investigation of his own White House's ties to Russia. Not since Watergate have our legal systems been so threatened," said Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal.

Senate Intelligence Committee vice-chairman Mark Warner called the move "shocking" and deeply troubling.

He said Mr Trump's actions made it clear that a special counsel should be appointed to investigate the Trump campaign's ties to Russia.

But some Republicans welcomed news of the dismissal.

"Given the recent controversies surrounding the director, I believe a fresh start will serve the FBI and the nation well," said Republican Lindsay Graham, chairman of a Senate judiciary subcommittee investigating the Russian campaign interference.

Mr Comey, 56, was nominated by former president Barack Obama for the FBI post in 2013 to a 10-year term.

Praised for his independence and integrity, Mr Comey has spent three decades in law enforcement.

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AP/Reuters