Midday Massacre: The firing of FBI Director James Comey dropped like a bomb on Washington yesterday. In a letter to Comey, President Trump said, “You are hereby terminated and removed from office, effective immediately.”

Comey was speaking to FBI agents in Los Angeles when the news came across the television screens that he’d been fired.

Although the White House said Comey was fired for his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation before Trump was inaugurated, the president’s action has raised immediate suspicions that he is trying to squelch the FBI investigation into contacts between Trump associates and Russia during the campaign. A NY Times editorial says bluntly, “Mr. Comey was fired because he was leading an active investigation that could bring down a president.”

The firing drew immediate parallels to the infamous Saturday Night Massacre in which President Nixon fired the special prosecutor investigating the Watergate scandal. CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said, “This is a dark day in American history,” and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for a special prosecutor to complete the investigation of Russian influence over the US.

Trump tweeted this morning, “The Democrats have said some of the worst things about James Comey, including the fact that he should be fired, but now they play so sad!”

A letter to the president from Attorney General Jeff Sessions recommending Comey’s firing said, “I cannot defend the Director’s handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton’s emails, and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken.” The Hillary Clinton email investigation was reopened during the last days of the campaign and Trump repeatedly praised Comey for doing it. It ended again with no prosecution.

Trump curiously said in his letter to Comey, “While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau.” Trump repeatedly praised Comey during the campaign.

The firing came just one day after former acting Attorney General Sally Yates testified that she had warned the White House about contacts former National Security Adviser had with Russia while he was still a campaign associate. Trump has now fired Yates, Flynn, and Comey.

Permawar: Over the strong objection of the Turkish government, President Trump has decided to give small arms to Iraqi Kurds to help in the fight against the Islamic State in Raqqa. It’s a thumb in the eye to a major NATO ally.

The US supports the Kurds, but the Turks have been pushing back to prevent the Kurds from creating a separate state. They say the Kurds have links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which both Turkey and the US have classified as a terrorist organization.

Hot Mess: A tunnel containing nuclear waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state collapsed yesterday, creating an open pit. Representatives said no one was hurt and there was no detected leakage of radiation.

The reservation, which is half the size of Rhode Island, was the dumping ground for nuclear waste from the original development of the atomic bomb, and later generations of weapons.

Much of the waste was disposed of rather casually, and the government has poured billions of dollars into a continuing cleanup.

Guilty Until Dead: A Massachusetts judge has set aside the murder conviction of the late New England Patriots star, Aaron Hernandez. He was found guilty of murdering a friend and sent to prison where he committed suicide. Under Massachusetts law, a conviction is vacated if the accused dies before he has exhausted his appeals.

Buy Low, Sell High: Actress Demi Moore has sold her penthouse in New York’s twin-towered San Remo building for $45 million. Monthly maintenance: $19,322. It was on the market for two years and she had to drop the price by $30 million. Don’t feel bad. She bought it in 1990 for $7.7 million.

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