Months before President Donald Trump fired James Comey, Democrats had called for the dismissal of the FBI director in reaction to his handling of an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails that some believe negatively impacted her presidential campaign.

Trump and the White House insisted on Wednesday that Comey’s firing was not politically motivated and, instead, was an effort to restore public trust and confidence in the FBI. Yet the timing and the motive of Comey’s dismissal puzzled Democrats and Republicans alike.

Related: Trump fired FBI Director Comey and these Republicans are troubled by it

A moment of political reflection came this week when Democrats expressed concern over the effect Comey’s firing could have on an investigation into Russia’s interference in the election that he oversaw.


It didn’t escape notice that Democrats had wanted Comey gone months ago.

One thing is certain: Odd to watch senior Democrats in Congress who called for Comey to resign now crying foul when he's fired. — Michael S. Smith II (@MichaelSSmithII) May 10, 2017

Here is a brief timeline of Democrats expressing frustration over Comey’s decision to publicly announce the re-opening of the investigation into Clinton’s emails 11 days before the election. Some questioned his judgment, others called for him to step down, and still others said his credibility was damaged.

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Oct. 30, 2016: Then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, accused the FBI director of breaking the Hatch Act, a federal law, by publicly disclosing new information about the Clinton investigation 11 days ahead of the presidential election.

“I am writing to inform you that my office has determined that these actions may violate the Hatch Act, which bars FBI officials from using their official authority to influence an election,” Reid wrote in the letter. “Through your partisan actions, you may have broken the law.”

Oct. 31, 2016: The next day, Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, echoed concerns similar to Reid’s and called for Comey to resign his FBI post. Cohen reiterated that call in a Nov. 3 opinion column published in The Hill.

In light of the recent comments by #FBI Director #Comey re: #HillaryClinton emails, I call on him to resign. Read my full statement here: pic.twitter.com/41XhdanQSA — Steve Cohen (@RepCohen) October 31, 2016


Nov. 2, 2016: Days later, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, told Bloomberg News that he had lost confidence in Comey for his handling of Clinton’s email investigation.

“I do not have confidence in him any longer,” Schumer said at the time. “To restore my faith, I am going to have to sit down and talk to him and get an explanation for why he did this.”

Related: Team Trump defends firing of FBI Director James Comey

That same day, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, shared similar feelings with CNN and suggested Comey may lose his job.


“Maybe he’s not in the right job,” Pelosi said. “I think that we have to just get through this election and just see what the casualties are along the way.”

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi on FBI Director James Comey: "Maybe he's not in the right job" https://t.co/vax7WihB8Y pic.twitter.com/2CHrMqwO5d — CNN (@CNN) November 2, 2016

Jan. 13, 2017: Two months after Clinton lost to Trump, Democrats blasted Comey after a briefing on the agency’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the election.

One of them was Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Georgia, who at the time said, “My confidence in the FBI director’s ability to lead this agency has been shaken.”


Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles, put it more bluntly: “The FBI director has no credibility.”

WATCH: "The FBI Director has no credibility" -- Congresswoman Maxine Waters makes her point in less than five seconds. pic.twitter.com/r0oghhaRqX — Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) January 14, 2017

Jan. 24, 2017: The fading confidence in Comey continued toward the end of January when Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-North Carolina, said “I think that James Comey needs to fade away into oblivion.”

“He embarrassed this nation, he possibly influenced the outcome of a presidential election, and he should not hold any position of trust, whatsoever, in our government.”


And that’s just a list of Democratic lawmakers who spoke up about Comey. Others made similar calls for the FBI director to step down last year.

On Oct. 30, 2016, the New York Daily News editorial board called on Comey to resign:

FBI Director James Comey’s democracy-bending decision to inform America, 11 days before its presidential election, that the bureau is digging into a trove of additional emails demands the highest condemnation. And he must resign.

On Oct. 31, 2016, ThinkProgress justice editor Ian Millhiser wrote a post making “the case for firing James Comey”:


We also know that Comey violated longstanding Justice Department protocol when he decided to disclose the very few facts that he actually did disclose in his letter to the Republican chairs. And we know that he wrote the letter over the explicit objections of Attorney General Loretta Lynch.Taken together, these actions constitute a fireable offense.

On Nov. 7, 2016, Newsweek columnist Kurt Eichenwald didn’t just call for the FBI director’s firing — he said Comey was unfit for public service:

James Comey should not simply be fired as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He must be barred forever from any form of public service.

On Tuesday, The White House on Tuesday cited a three-page letter from deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein detailing a number of public statements Comey made about the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s emails including a decision by the FBI director to “usurp the Attorney General’s authority” to publicly reject any charges for Clinton.


In his letter to Comey, Trump emphasized that his decision to fire him was so that the FBI “restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission.”

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Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com

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