The shadow of crisis covers the White House

President Donald Trump's sudden firing of the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has shaken Washington and cast a shadow of crisis around the White House.

Many Republican leaders rushed to defend the President. Mr. Trump himself directed criticism at Democrats and those who condemned him, calling them "hypocrites."

The Trump administration is said to have secretly planned to fire FBI Director James Comey in advance.

But on Capitol Hill, some Republican voices have been raised, expressing concern or worry. James Comey, who was only four years into his 10-year tenure as FBI director, was fired while leading an investigation into allegations of ties between the Trump campaign and Russia in 2016.

At the White House, Donald Trump denied allegations that the president was interfering with a counterintelligence investigation. At the same time, he hosted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russia’s ambassador to Washington, Sergey I. Kislyak, for the first time. Kislyak’s private meetings with Trump campaign aides are a key part of the FBI’s investigation.

White House officials refused to let reporters take photos or attend the closed-door meeting in the Oval Office. However, Russian media published multiple images that their official photographer captured of a smiling Trump shaking hands with two Russian diplomats. The images quickly went viral on Twitter.

After the sudden firing of the "boss" of the FBI, members described a gloomy atmosphere surrounding the agency, especially when their morale had been low for months due to attacks on investigations surrounding the 2016 US presidential election campaign.

The New York Times quoted an official as saying that President Trump is considering going to FBI headquarters in Washington on May 12 to demonstrate his commitment to the agency, although he is not expected to mention the Russia investigation.

The president and his allies have no qualms about firing Comey, saying his decision had nothing to do with the FBI director’s role in investigating possible Russian interference and connections to Trump advisers.

In a letter to FBI agents on May 10, Comey said he did not care why he was fired. "I have long believed that a president can fire an FBI director for any reason, or no reason at all," Comey wrote in the letter, according to an anonymous law enforcement official who spoke to the New York Times.

Senior Justice Department officials are currently scrambling to find an interim FBI director, while a permanent replacement for Comey is being selected.

White House officials declined to comment on reports that Comey had asked the Justice Department to increase resources for the Russia investigation in the days before his firing, a claim Democrats are now citing as further evidence of the president’s motives.

According to Vietnamnet