FBI employees support sacked director by wearing 'Comey is my homey' T-shirts to bureau's Family Day
Former director sacked in May for his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An unexpected display of support for fired FBI Director James Comey, with employees spotted wearing #ComeyIsMyHomey t-shirts, took place at the bureau’s Family Day in Washington.
Family Day is for FBI employees, friends and families to visit the US intelligence service and take part in activities including SWAT demonstrations.
Mr Comey has been called an unpopular and ineffective leader of the FBI by Donald Trump. But this unscheduled display of affection for the ousted chief demonstrates that many still support him.
At least a dozen people wore matching #ComeyIsMyHomey shirts, according to social media posts. The identity of the Comey backers was kept hidden, however, as the images did not show their faces.
One supporter tweeted: “Come on Jim Comey. We need you man! Lordy, we need you!”
Another hoped Mr Trump would also receive support. Ron ‘Thug’ Hall tweeted: “Don't Sweat It, Donald, I'm Sure Ivanka/Jared Would Wear #TrumpIsMyHomey.”
The former director was sacked by the US President in May for his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails.
The White House released a statement saying: “President Donald J Trump informed FBI director James Comey that he has been terminated and removed from office.
"President Trump acted based on the clear recommendations of both deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein and attorney general Jeff Sessions."
Mr Trump later told NBC he planned to fire Mr Comey regardless of Rosenstein’s recommendation over the Russia investigation.
Richard Burr, who led the Senate intelligence committee investigation into Russia’s alleged influence over the presidential election in 2016, said: “I have found director Comey to be a public servant of the highest order, and his dismissal further confuses an already difficult investigation by the committee.”
Many within the bureau were alarmed at Mr Trump’s dismissal of Mr Comey. Bobby Chacon, a former FBI agent, said the decision was like a “punch in the stomach to agents”.
“I myself, and I would speak for a lot of agents, feel very disrespected by the administration and how this was handled,” he told The Guardian.
Other former agents said the way Mr Comey was fired was an “outrage” and said that the Trump administration’s approach “besmirches the reputation of the FBI”.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments