Dear Editor:

To many it does appear that when President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, it constituted interference in the Russian investigation.

The firing of Comey by Trump was much like an action in search of a believable rationale. Trump did not appear to have sufficient factual basis for the firing and instead offered a shifting story. While it is within the president's power to fire Comey, in this case, Comey was investigating Russian interference in our election and possible ties to the Trump campaign and administration. So it does appear that the firing constituted at the least investigation interference if not approaching obstruction of justice.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham suggested "The president needs to back off here and let the investigation go forward" but his willingness to do that is questionable. With Trump's apparent desire to influence the Russian investigation, it seems time to call for an independent commission to conduct a truly impartial investigation. We need to get this right.

Jerry Topinka

Boothbay Harbor