President Donald Trump has fired FBI Director James Comey  a move that comes as the FBI is probing potential contacts between Trumps campaign aides and Russian officials ahead of the election.



"The president has accepted the recommendation of the Attorney General and the deputy Attorney General regarding the dismissal of the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation," White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters.



It was not immediately clear exactly why Comey was ousted.



Comey, who was appointed FBI director by former President Barack Obama in 2013 to a 10-year term, has come under fire for his handling of both the Trump campaign probe and the investigation into Hillary Clintons use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.