Journalists in Washington are outraged that photographers for the Russian government were permitted to attend Trump's meeting with the Russian ambassador earlier today.

US media were not permitted to attend, and were not even notified in advance that such a meeting would be happening.

But however annoyed the US media was, diplomats were even more concerned.

A National Security adviser to former vice-president Joe Biden has asked if it was a good idea to allow Russian government camera crews into the White House with all of their equipment.

The former CIA deputy director says "no, it was not".

Hopefully they didn't drop a microphone or two between the couch cushions on their way out.

Less than six hours later, the images had appeared on the floor of the US Senate.

This post from Eric Holder, who served as attorney general under Obama, has received almost 100,000 likes and over 45,000 retweets.

It was first posted yesterday only about 15 minutes after the news broke.

Jeffrey Lord, who frequently defended Donald Trump on TV during his unorthodox presidential campaign, has penned an opinion piece defending the president.

He says that Trump made the decision as a "businessman" based on the guidance of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

"It was Rosenstein who took a good, professional look at the conduct of FBI Director James Comey and recommended that he be fired. 

"It wasn't the president, it was Rod Rosenstein," he writes, external.   

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, the most powerful Republican in Congress, has yet to react to the Comey news.

He dodged questions during his tour of a factory in Ohio, and has promised to address it in a Fox News interview later this evening.

The audience at last night's taping of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert had not heard the news of James Comey's firing, which had occurred only about 10 minutes before the comedian began his opening monologue.

His audience, who certainly lean towards the liberal view of events, reacted by breaking into applause.

Visitors to the US homepage of CNN News will find that there are just two types of news today.

The firing of the FBI director and... "Non-Comey news".

The section is only viewable on US browsers. 

James Comey, who was last seen on Tuesday boarding a private jet in Los Angeles, has just been spotted returning to his Washington DC home.

Democratic Senator Ben Cardin from the state of Maryland says that "we know that this involves Russia and we need to know what they are doing and how they're operating".

He says an independent commission is necessary in order to determine what "exactly Russia was doing" during the 2016 election.

He also warns that Russia seeks to meddle in other European elections.

He says the US should establish a commission similar to the one created after the attacks of 11 September 2001.

The man who wrote many of former Republican presidential John McCain's speeches is now calling for Democrats to retake control of Congress in the 2018 midterm elections.

Republicans currently control both houses of Congress.

The New York Times has this interactive graphic tallying how every single member of Congress has reacted to the news of Comey firing.

How Every Lawmaker Has Reacted to Comey’s Firing So Far, external

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is in town. 

Who knows where this guy is...

But he's back!

Image source, Reuters

New York senator Chuck Schumer says the Democratic Caucus has met and agreed three things:

• A special prosecutor is needed, but should not be chosen by deputy attorney general Rosenstein. Instead, the decision should be taken by the highest-ranking "career civil servant" in the Department of Justice
• Secondly, "Mr Comey is needed more than ever to testify before the Senate"
• Both Mr Rosenstein and attorney general Jeff Sessions should brief all senators separately, and soon - and, if necessary, in a classified setting

"The questions are just swirling about - there are more every day, almost every hour," he said.

Image source, Reuters

Key points from the White House briefing with aide Sarah Huckabee Sanders, which just wrapped up.

• Donald Trump considered firing James Comey "since the day he was elected".
• The president, the Department of Justice, and the FBI's own staff had all lost confidence in Comey - contradicting other reports that the director was widely respected.
• Comey committed "atrocities" in "circumventing the chain of command", Ms Sanders said, adding that holding a press conference on Hillary Clinton's emails without approval was akin to "throwing a stick of dynamite" into the justice department.
• She rebuffed calls from top Democrats for a special prosecutor on the Russia scandal, saying it was "not necessary".

• Trump's earlier endorsements of Mr Comey - when Comey was investigating Hillary Clinton - were because he was "wearing a different hat" as a candidate.
• "If Hillary Clinton had won the election - which thank God she didn't - and she had been in the same position, she would have fired Comey immediately," Ms Sanders said.
• Several candidates are being considered for the post of interim director, and the justice department is overseeing the process.
• The White House followed "proper protocol" by putting things in writing, rather than calling Mr Comey - though he actually found out from television news.

Trump's approval rating has plummeted to a near-record low of 36%, according to a new Quinnipac University poll.

Crucially, the president lost significant support among key demographics - white voters with no college degree, white men, and independent voters, the poll found.

"There is no way to spin or sugarcoat these sagging numbers," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. "The erosion of white men, white voters without college degrees and independent voters, the declaration by voters that President Donald Trump's first 100 days were mainly a failure and deepening concerns about Trump's honesty, intelligence and level-headedness are red flags that the administration simply can't brush away."

Comey's sacking comes after a string of high-profile dismissals by Trump during his early presidency.

Acting attorney general Sally Yates was fired after blocking the president's travel ban, and national secutiry adviser Michel Flynn was pushed out after misleading the administration about his ties with Russia.

Read our full piece on Trump's body count here.

Comey has been invited to testify on Tuesday before a closed session of the Senate Intelligence Committee, according to several reports.

Sanders dismisses calls from top Democrats for a special prosecutor. 

"We don’t think it’s necessary. There is a house committee, a senate committee, and the Department of Justice."

She also said there were several candidates in the frame to replace Comey, but no choice had been made.

Historically, FBI directors have been drawn from within the agency.