Newsletter: Essential Politics: As Trump fires FBI director, the political world hits hyperdrive

James Comey was in Los Angeles on Tuesday, chatting with FBI agents and preparing for an evening event, when a TV in the room flashed breaking news from Washington.

Comey had just been fired as FBI director by President Trump.

Good morning from the state capital. I’m Sacramento Bureau Chief John Myers, and for the umpteenth time in the short presidency of Trump, we’re all left with a collective “wow.”

We’ve also got news this morning about another climate change clash between California and Trump, and a study showing serious challenges last fall for some limited-English voters in the state.

But first, let’s talk about that firing.

‘YOU’RE FIRED’

Citing the need for a “new beginning” at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the president sent a short and searing termination letter to Comey in the early evening hours in Washington.

Comey then made his way back east from Los Angeles, followed in classic L.A. television style by news choppers as his caravan wound its way to LAX.

The FBI has been the lead agency investigating alleged ties between Trump’s presidential campaign and Russian intelligence agencies in 2016. There was widespread agreement that, if nothing else, the timing of Trump’s decision looked bad.

Comey had already spent several days in high-profile settings, having testified on Capitol Hill last Tuesday about his decision to publicly re-open the Hillary Clinton investigation in October, just 11 days before the election. That action was specifically referenced in the memorandum dated Tuesday from Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein, cited as a failing on Comey’s part.

Earlier in the day, published reports had cast doubt on the way Comey had described the Clinton emails found on a computer belonging to the husband of aide Huma Abedin.

Be sure to take a look at our annotated version of the letter than ended Comey’s tenure at the FBI.

COMEY: THE REACTION

Democrats swiftly pounced on Trump’s decision, calling it “Nixonian” in the early hours after the news broke. (The president, not surprisingly, took to Twitter to fight back.)

Not that all of the hand wringing came from Democrats. North Carolina Republican Sen. Richard Burr said he was “troubled by the timing and reasoning” Comey’s dismissal.

The only real praise for Trump’s action, other than from his staffers, came from longtime confidant Roger Stone, who said it was “about time” that Comey was removed from the job.

COMEY: THE BACKSTORY

For a law enforcement official who had worked hard to stay above the political fray, writes Jackie Calmes, Comey’s fall was a fast one.

He was appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2013 after a long government career that included stints as U.S. attorney in New York and as deputy attorney general during the administration of former President George W. Bush.

Comey became a hero to many for refusing to sign off on warrantless wiretaps during the Bush administration, then a villain to both sides for his handling of 2016 campaign investigations.

And then, as Evan Halper writes, Comey found himself praised by Trump. But on Tuesday — months after being urged by the political newcomer of a president to go after Clinton — he was seemingly fired for doing just that.

A reminder that our team in the nation’s capital will have their hands full keeping track of developments today in the wake of Comey’s firing. Be sure to keep up with all of it on our Essential Washington news feed.

WHO’S IN CHARGE NOW?

The man at the helm of the FBI as the sun rises on Wednesday is Andrew McCabe, who has made a career out of shunning the spotlight. That might not last much longer.

Del Quentin Wilber wrote a profile of McCabe in 2016 that’s worth a read.

AND WE THOUGHT THE YATES TESTIMONY WAS BIG

How time flies, right? As of midday Tuesday, political watchers were still buzzing about Monday’s riveting testimony from former acting Atty. Gen. Sally Yates.

Yes, it seems so long ago that we were talking about Yates’ testimony that she warned the Trump administration about former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s connections with Russian officials.

“You don’t want the Russians to have leverage over the national security advisor,” Yates said.

CALLS FOR NAPOLITANO’S RESIGNATION, A CHANGE IN AUDIT RULES

Here in Sacramento, the clamor continues over the audit of UC President Janet Napolitano’s office and last week’s marathon legislative hearing that was punctuated with the veteran politician’s apology.

It wasn’t enough, says one state legislator.

“It’s time she resigned,” said Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-Fullerton) on Tuesday, thus becoming the first member of the Legislature to call for Napolitano to step aside.

And the lawmaker who led last week’s hearing, Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance), said it’s time to make it a crime for interfering with a state audit — the kind of accusation made against Napolitano’s team in the recent investigation.

As we said last week on last week’s podcast, this story doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.

CALIFORNIA VS. TRUMP: AIR WAR EDITION

California has been able to set tougher air quality rules than federal standards for decades, but the Trump’s administration has made it clear it intends to question that authority. The first test, it seems, could be contested regulations for diesel-powered construction vehicles.

The issue stems from a 2013 decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that allowed California to require emission filters on bulldozers, forklifts and other diesel-powered equipment.

Now, a pending legal battle over those rules is on hold after the federal government suggested the premise of the lawsuit — California’s effort to regulate by getting a waiver of less strict federal law — may disappear.

WHERE’S THE SAMPLE BALLOT THAT’S NOT IN ENGLISH?

California voters who have limited English language skills have two laws designed to help them cast their ballots: A federal law that covers communities with large numbers of such voters, and a state law that’s supposed to provide at least one sample ballot in their language when the communities are smaller.

But what if that non-English ballot isn’t there to use as a guide? A nonprofit advocacy group sent volunteers to hundreds of polling places across the state on election day in November and found a number of those voters weren’t given the information they needed to cast a ballot.

The group’s report is out today, and we took a close look at its findings. It’s also worth noting that a bill pending in the state Capitol would enhance the state law that requires ballot help for voters who aren’t proficient in English.

MORE TENSION IN GOP DISTRICTS

With the House in recess this week, some lawmakers came home to find another round of tough questions about their vote on the healthcare bill last week.

Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) faced a grilling by his constituents Tuesday morning, after voting for a bill he originally said he wouldn’t support.

Two of Denham’s fellow Republicans weren’t around for the protests in their districts: Palmdale Rep. Steve Knight and Irvine Rep. Mimi Walters were both criticized on Tuesday by constituents holding events.

Outside California, the video of Rep. Rod Blum (R-Iowa) walking out of a televised interview in front of a group of schoolchildren went viral. Blum was being pressed about screening attendees to his public meetings.

PICK ONE: REPEAL ALL OF OBAMACARE OR CUT TAXES

Republican lawmakers in the U.S. Senate, meantime, now find themselves in a bit of a financial pickle as they consider their 2017 agenda: the dual goals of repealing the Affordable Care Act and existing tax rates don’t exactly mesh well together.

Of course, the House has favored doing both. But the effect on the deficit would be sizable, to say nothing of healthcare coverage for millions. And if that’s a problem, writes Noam Levey, then it’s one or the other for senators who are now seeking a different path forward.

TAMPON TAX BREAK GOES DOWN TO DEFEAT

In Sacramento, two state lawmakers who have tried to eliminate sales taxes on tampons and diapers the past two years lost another battle Monday when an Assembly committee voted down their plan.

Assemblywomen Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) and Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) had proposed making up for the lost revenue by increasing taxes on hard liquor. But, amid strong opposition from the alcohol industry, their colleagues didn’t move the bill forward. Gonzalez Fletcher and Garcia had pitched their plan as a statement on the state’s values and the proposal fit into a broader national movement to eliminate sales taxes on products for women and children.

NEWSOM IS FIRST WITH HIS TAX RETURNS

It’s been more than a decade since a candidate for California governor allowed the media a glimpse at tax returns. Gov. Jerry Brown didn’t do it in either 2010 or 2014, and Democrats across the state have jabbed the president for not doing so in last year’s election. (In fact, there’s a bill pending that would require presidential candidates to do so, or else forfeit a spot on the California ballot).

Which is probably why Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom decided this week to do something different and put his returns out there early.

Six years of tax returns filed by Newsom, who’s running for governor next year, show that he made more than $4 million from his wineries, restaurants, hotels and other hospitality businesses. The Democrat released the 2010-2015 federal and state tax returns he filed jointly with his wife, actress and filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom. Among one of the more interesting tidbits: the Newsoms made hundreds of thousands of dollars trading silver bars. In 2011 alone, they turned a profit of $499,452 on the sale of silver bars.

No word yet on when Newsom’s Democratic rivals — former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, state Treasurer John Chiang and former state schools chief Delaine Eastin — will do the same.

TODAY’S ESSENTIALS

-- A candidate to be the next chairman of the California Democratic Party is asking supporters to help fight what he said is a false allegation about “inappropriate behavior” with underage boys.

-- Federal appeals court judges in Virginia gave a mostly skeptical hearing on Monday to a lawyer for Trump as he attempted to defend the legality of a foreign travel ban affecting six mostly Muslim nations.

-- Gov. Jerry Brown is taking the unusual step of hosting a political fundraiser for a Democratic state senator targeted for recall after voting in favor of an increase in gas taxes to pay for road repairs.

-- Antonio Sabato Jr., the Calvin Klein underwear model turned soap-opera heartthrob, is running for Congress. The Republican and vocal supporter of President Trump is challenging Rep. Julia Brownley, who represents the southern central coast and most of Ventura County.

--The Legislature will keep former U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder as outside counsel for another month, but the long-term plans to keep Holder’s firm, Covington & Burling, as extra legal firepower against the Trump administration remain unclear.

-- The University of California, battling charges that too many out-of-state and international students crowd out Californians, has reduced its nonresident enrollment targets in a revised policy.

-- The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution that members said would provide sweeping safeguards for school-district families that include immigrants in the country illegally.

-- Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez continues to highlight endorsements from progressive elected officials and groups in his congressional runoff against attorney Robert Lee Ahn.

--A bill that would make being a Communist no longer a fireable offense in state employment was approved by the Assembly, but not without some suspense during the floor vote.

-- Brown appointed former Democratic Assemblyman V. Manuel Perez to a seat on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, filling a vacancy left by the Dec. 26 death of Supervisor John Benoit, a Republican.

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john.myers@latimes.com

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