President Donald Trump on Tuesday fired James B. Comey from his post as director of the FBI, The New York Times reports.
In a letter to Mr. Comey, President Trump said Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein recommended his dismissal, citing Mr. Comey's public handling of then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.
"It is essential that we find new leadership for the FBI that restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission," President Trump wrote in the letter.
Mr. Comey, three years into his decade-long term as FBI director, was leading the criminal investigation into whether President Trump's advisers worked with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, according to The New York Times.
"While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the bureau," President Trump wrote in the letter.
Mr. Comey on Wednesday sent a farewell letter to his former colleagues. "It is very hard to leave a group of people who are committed only to doing the right thing. My hope is that you will continue to live our values and the mission of protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution," he wrote.
In his years as FBI director, Mr. Comey was a vocal proponent of hospital and health system leaders collaborating more closely with law enforcement. He also called upon healthcare organizations to protect against ransomware — which he referred to as the industry's the No. 1 cyberthreat — and discouraged providers from paying ransoms.