Key questions raised following FBI Director James Comey's sacking

President Donald Trump abruptly fired James Comey as director of the FBI in the midst of the law enforcement agency's investigation into whether Trump's presidential campaign was connected to Russian meddling in the election.

Donald Trump wrote a letter to Mr Comey informing him that was being "terminated and removed from office, effective immediately" over his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of IL, meanwhile, said the firing "raises the critical question as to whether the FBI investigation of Russian interference in the last presidential campaign will continue and as to whether the investigation of any collusion or involvement by the Trump campaign will also be investigated by the FBI".

Comey learned of his dismissal from televisions tuned to the news, as he was addressing the workforce at the Federal Bureau of Investigation office in Los Angeles, law enforcement sources said.

Trump's dismissal of Comey does not mean the FBI's investigation into Russia's interference in the US presidential election will be disrupted or end - career FBI staffers can continue the probe even as the search for a new FBI director begins, legal experts said.

Republican Michigan Rep. Justin Amash said he and his staff were looking at legislation to establish an independent investigatory committee, and said the second paragraph in Trump's pink slip letter to Comey was "bizarre".

"Were these investigations getting too close to home for the president?"

Democrats likened Tuesday's ouster to President Richard Nixon's "Saturday Night Massacre" and renewed calls for the appointment of a special prosecutor, and some Republicans also questioned the move.

"This firing is an excuse and an attempt to slow down the FBI's investigation of the Russian interference into our election", said Charlton.

U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont said Trump's firing of Comey is "nothing less than Nixonian". "Like, if he's gone, who is going to investigate Russia's ties to. Oh".

But a person familiar with the investigation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the testimony publicly, said that that was not Abedin's regular practice and that none of the emails that she did forward to Weiner's laptop were classified at the time. "(Trump) seizes on this moment everybody's being critical of Comey, says, 'I want to get rid of him anyway, ' and so out he goes".

At the very least, their calls for an independent investigation into the matter will become deafening - and some Republicans may now be inclined to agree.

Since the start of Trump's presidency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation chief had increasingly appeared to be a thorn in the president's side.

Trump will also be under pressure to yield to calls for a special prosecutor to take over the case, a decision that might create greater confidence in the independence of the investigation but that the president and his allies might see as a potentially more perilous course. "I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors".

There were no notable Republican voices clambering for his head, although Democrats do blame him in large part for Mrs Clinton's loss.

Rosenstein cited several former Justice Department officials' comments criticizing Comey's handling of the Clinton email investigation, including his public statements. In a longer memorandum, Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney-general, cast Mr Comey's dismissal entirely as the result of his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private e-mail server during her tenure as secretary of state.

A new director chosen by Trump could decide to drop the FBI investigation altogether, or not pursue it as aggressively as Comey has.

Comey told lawmakers last week he felt "mildly nauseous" at the thought that he had swayed the election - but could not have acted any other way.