Let’s focus on the story that’s been dominating American news in the past weeks:

FBI Director James Comey Fired

On May 9 President Donald Trump dismissed the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, James Comey, in a letter, setting off a chain reaction of news that has captivated the country. Trump’s stated reason for firing Comey was his mishandling of former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s emails just days before the election in November of 2016. His conduct in that case caused many democrats to criticize him for making a public announcement–about the investigation into her emails–that favored her opponent. Trump showed no similar indignation or concern about this–until he fired Comey.

Many Americans are observing that Trump’s firing of Comey had little to do with Comey’s actions in November, and everything to do with the FBI’s ongoing investigation into the Trump administration and into the Trump campaign’s ties with Russia’s government. Trump’s letter, although not citing this as motivation, mentioned Russia several times. Trump’s story has been inconsistent, saying that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein wrote him a note telling Trump to dismiss Comey, but at the same time, Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Trump had been thinking about firing Comey “since the day he was elected.” It has since come out that Trump called Comey a “nut job” behind closed doors.

Now, after the fact, tons of reporting has been done to uncover the truth about this firing. It was revealed that Trump had invited Comey to the White House for dinner, an unprecedented move, as the Department of Justice is not supposed to be friendly with the President (to maintain the system of checks and balances), and asked for Comey to pledge his loyalty to Trump. Comey, independent third party as he tries to be, repeatedly refused.

This has been marked as a very suspicious event–if Trump were telling the truth, had not colluded with Russia, and was not breaking any laws, why would be need the “loyalty” of the directory of the FBI? Trump later tweeted “James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!” insinuating that there is something he said to Comey that he wants to keep secret.

Then it was revealed that in a meeting with the Russian Ambassador and Foreign Minister, Trump disclosed highly classified intelligence that was given to the administration by Israel. This violates international intelligence norms, and was by no means a smart foreign relations move. Israel is a strong adversary of Russian ally Iran, and this move will hurt America’s ability to get classified information from our allies in the future.

Comey is a notorious note-taker, and after each meeting with Trump, he has detailed memos of their interactions. These notes have shown that Comey repeatedly fended off Trump’s attempts to have him reveal details about the Russian investigation, and whether the President himself is under scrutiny by the FBI. Congressional investigators have requested copies of the memos, and by their accounts, the memos “provide snapshots of a fraught relationship between a president trying to win over and influence an F.B.I. director and someone who had built his reputation on asserting his independence, sometimes in a dramatic way.”

Comey takes a lot of pride in his independence, and has forcefully tried to keep his bureau free from ties to the White House. He thought any friendship with the President would be inappropriate. This did not, however, deter Trump from trying to establish a relationship with him.

Despite what Trump may have wanted, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as the special counsel who will oversee the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference with the election.

On May 19, Comey agreed to testify in public before the Senate Intelligence Committee about his role in the Russian investigation. The date has not been set yet, but his testimony will hopefully clarify some of the events surrounding this mess.

It remains to be seen what the long term fallout of Comey’s firing and the subsequent revelations will be, but many people are suspecting–some hoping–it will lead to impeachment proceedings against Trump.

Trump’s Trip

On Friday, May 19, Trump left for his first trip abroad during his presidency. The nine day jaunt included visits to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Vatican City, Brussels, and Sicily. His visit to Brussels coincided with the 2017 NATO Summit, where Trump added to his infamous awkward handshake repertoire, demanded that European countries start contributing more to the defense budget, and called for the end of terrorism.