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Article snippet: ■ President Trump has fired James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director, the White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Tuesday. ■ Mr. Comey was delivering a speech in Los Angeles when he learned he had been fired. ■ His dismissal drew a quick rebuke from Democrats and concern from several Republican lawmakers. ■ Several lawmakers called for a special counsel to take over the investigation into Russian meddling in the election. Mr. Comey was addressing a group of F.B.I. employees in Los Angeles when a television in the background flashed the news that he had been fired. In response, Mr. Comey laughed, saying he thought it was a fairly funny prank. Then his staff started scurrying around in the background and told Mr. Comey that he should step into a nearby office. Mr. Comey stopped addressing the group. He proceeded to shake hands with the employees he had been speaking to. Then he stepped into a side office, where he confirmed that he had been fired. At that point, he had not heard from the White House. Shortly thereafter, a letter from Mr. Trump was delivered to the F.B.I.’s headquarters, just seven blocks from the White House. Mr. Comey’s day had begun in Florida, where he spoke to a group of police officers. He then flew to Los Angeles, where he was also scheduled to speak at a diversity meeting. — Michael S. Schmidt Mr. Comey’s firing immediately fueled calls for an independent investigator or commission to look into Russia’s efforts to disrupt the election and any c... Link to the full article to read more