FBI Director James Comey thought it was a prank when he first heard that he had been fired on television on Tuesday.

Comey reportedly laughed at the news reports of his termination before his staffers confirmed it was true as he was speaking to FBI employees in Los Angeles, the Hill and New York Times reported. TV screens behind Comey began to show the news.

Comey flew back to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday evening after receiving word of his firing. TV news helicopters followed Comey's motorcade through traffic all the way to his plane taking off.

The letter from President Donald Trump notifying Comey of his termination was delivered to FBI headquarters in D.C., but Comey was not there to receive it himself.