Trump 'essentially declared war on the FBI' by firing Comey and can expect a response 'in kind'

A new Washington Post article offers an intimate look into the immediate before and after of President Donald Trump's firing of former FBI Director James Comey, and many of the revelations from the 30-odd officials within the White House and intelligence communities who spoke on conditions of anonymity are explosive.

According to one anonymous intelligence official, Trump “essentially declared war on a lot of people at the FBI. I think there will be a concerted effort to respond over time in kind.”

Another anecdote from the in-depth report shows a White House aide responding to a reporter asking for a scoop shortly after news broke that Comey had been fired with two fireworks emojis, and nothing else.

The report alleges that Trump's decision to fire Comey had been a long time coming, and that he had become increasingly "angry" and "frustrated" as the erstwhile FBI director chose to plow on with investigations into the Russia election-meddling probe while ignoring issues that concerned the president greater, such as his still-baseless claim that President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower or White House leaks to the press.

Along with making the bombshell allegation that Trump directed Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to write letters to legitimize firing Comey, the article also recounts the questions known details raise, such as why Sessions consulted on firing the FBI director overseeing a case he'd recused himself from.

It also raised another, perhaps more serious, question: "Why had Trump discussed the Russia probe with the FBI director three times, as he claimed in his letter dismissing Comey, which could have been a violation of Justice Department policies that ongoing investigations generally are not to be discussed with White House officials?"

The remarkable report drew the ire of some conservatives, including newsman Matt Drudge, who warned leaks like the ones in the Washington Post report "will destroy Trump presidency."