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US Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Shumer called for a special prosecutor to take over the investigation, which Mr Comey had been leading. He said the probe should be “far away from the heavy hand” of Trump’s administration. He added: “There are many outstanding questions about the circumstances of director Comey’s dismissal and what the future holds for this investigation. “Was director Comey’s investigation making progress in a direction that would cause significant political damage for the White House?"

GETTY Donald Trump has fired FBI Director James Comey

He added: “No doubt we’ll have an opportunity to question Mr Comey, now a private citizen, about what happened. “We need to get to the bottom of this, and get a handle on all the facts so that we can grapple with them. “Nothing less is at stake than the American people’s faith in the criminal justice system and the integrity of our government.”

Donald Trump's most memorable tweets as president Fri, April 21, 2017 Donald Trump's most memorable tweets since elected as President of the United States Play slideshow REUTERS 1 of 22 Donald Trump tweets his way through presidency