Comey first heard he was fired from television reports; thought it was a prank

President Trump Fires FBI Director James Comey

Former FBI Director James Comey heard he was fired by President Donald Trump from news reports as he was speaking to a group of FBI employees in Los Angeles, several media outlets are reporting.

According to some of those in attendance, Comey laughed when he saw a news flash that said he had been fired, and said he thought it was a funny prank. Soon after, his staff signaled him to come into a nearby office where he was told the news was not a prank, and that the president had, indeed, fired him.

He was told that a letter had been delivered to the FBI headquarters in Washington confirming that he had been dismissed.

In this Wednesday, May 3, 2017, photo, then-FBI Director James Comey pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. President Donald Trump abruptly fired Comey on May 9, ousting the nation's top law enforcement official in the midst of an investigation into whether Trump's campaign had ties to Russia's election meddling.

Credit: Carolyn Kaster

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Credit: Carolyn Kaster