Key moments that led US President Donald Trump to fire FBI Director James Comey.
September 4, 2013: Comey sworn in as the seventh director of the FBI after being nominated by then US president Barack Obama.
July 5, 2016: Says "no reasonable prosecutor" would bring criminal charges against Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over her email practices as secretary of state, but criticises her and her staff for being carelessness in their handling of classified material.
July 5, 2016: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says the FBI's decision not to charge Clinton shows the system is "rigged."
July 7, 2016: Comey defends the decision not to prosecute Clinton saying it would be unwarranted and mere "celebrity hunting."
October 28, 2016: Days before the presidential election, Comey writes to Congress advising he is reopening the Clinton email investigation, citing the discovery of emails on a laptop used by one of her top aides. Justice Department officials warn against this to avoid appearance of election meddling.
October 28, 2016: Trump tells a campaign rally that he has "great respect for the FBI for righting this wrong."
November 6, 2016: Comey writes to Congress that a review of newly discovered Clinton emails has "not changed our conclusions" that she should not face criminal charges.
November 6: Trump criticises Comey's second letter, saying Clinton was guilty and being protected by a "rigged system".
November 8, 2016: Trump elected president.
November 12, 2016: Clinton blames her defeat on Comey, telling campaign donors she was on track to win until Comey's first letter.
November 13, 2016: CBS "60 Minutes" broadcasts an interview where Trump says he hadn't decided whether to keep Comey.
January 6, 2017: Comey is among a group of four top US intelligence officials who briefed then-President-elect Donald Trump on their conclusions that Russia meddled in the presidential election on his behalf.
January 22, 2017: Two days after taking office Trump appears to single Comey out at a White House reception, offering him a handshake and a partial hug and saying Comey has: "become more famous than me."
March 8, 2017: Comey tells a conference he will be serving his 10-year term, quipping: "You're stuck with me for another 6 years."
March 20, 2017: Comey testifies to Congress that the FBI has been investigating possible links between Trump associates and Russian officials since July, the same month he held an unusual news conference to discuss the investigation into Clinton. Comey had previously refused to acknowledge the parallel Trump investigation, and his disclosure enrages Democrats who already blamed Comey for costing Clinton the presidency.
March 20, 2017: Comey also testifies that the FBI and Justice Department have no information to substantiate Trump's tweet that former Obama wiretapped him before the election.
May 2, 2017: Clinton again lays part of the blame for losing the election on Comey's October 28 letter.
May 3, 2017: Testifying tells a Senate Judiciary Committee that he was consistent in his handling of the separate investigations into Clinton and Trump, adding that he felt "mildly nauseous" that his actions in October might have influenced the election. But he told senators: "I can't consider for a second whose political futures will be affected and in what way. We have to ask ourselves what is the right thing to do and then do it."
May 9, 2017: Comey sends Congress a letter correcting his prior sworn testimony regarding emails handled by longtime Clinton associate Huma Abedin. Comey had told Congress that Abedin had sent "hundreds and thousands" of emails to her husband's laptop, including some with classified information. The follow-up letter said that, in fact, only "a small number" of the thousands of emails found on the laptop had been forwarded there while most had simply been backed up from electronic devices.
May 9, 2017: Trump abruptly fires Comey. "It is essential that we find new leadership for the FBI that restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission," Trump states in a letter addressed to Comey.
