FBI agents around the country were shocked and disheartened by Comey’s firing:

CBS News: “FBI agents at various field offices across the country expressed utter shock over President Trump's abrupt firing…Another current FBI employee said Comey's firing was, ‘like we lost a member of our family.’”

Reuters: “The firing came as a shock to FBI staff, nearly all of whom had confidence in Comey despite the controversy surrounding his handling of the Clinton email situation, according to an FBI official who spoke on condition of anonymity.”

Politico: “‘I’m literally in tears right now. That’s all I have to say,’ said a longtime special agent who’s known and worked with Comey for years.”

FBI officials including acting Director McCabe have contradicted the White House’s claim that FBI agents “lost faith” in Director Comey:

Politico: “‘Director Comey enjoyed broad support within the FBI and still does to this day,’ McCabe said at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.”

Current and former FBI agents claimed that Comey enjoyed overwhelming support within the rank and file of the FBI:

Politico: “In interviews with POLITICO, the heads of the two associations representing current and retired FBI agents, analysts and other personnel said that, Comey enjoys enormous support among the 35,000 people who worked for him, and the many thousands of others who have retired or left the bureau.”

Politico: “‘His support within the rank and file of the FBI is overwhelming,’ said Thomas O’Connor, a working FBI special agent who is president of the FBI Agents Association.”

CBS News: “’The vast majority of the bureau is in favor of director Comey.’ ‘He is one of the first leaders to really care about our people and the institution,’ the special agent continued. ‘He talks about ideals and he believes in those ideals; he is the real deal.”

Politico: “‘People were upset about losing him, and how he was informed. That’s

appalling to our membership. He was a well-respected, well-liked director.’”

Current and former FBI agents reportedly felt disrespected by Trump’s firing of Director Comey:

Politico: “While the FBI has been polarized since the election, Trump’s decision will likely cause a ‘significant amount of backlash’ within the bureau’s rank and file, said David Gomez, a former FBI agent who led the Seattle field office until his 2011 retirement…‘It’s a political thing that is going to, to use the vernacular, come back and bite him in the butt.’”

Politico: “Comey’s firing ‘was described to me today by at least three agents as a gut punch to the organization,’ said O’Connor, a counterterrorism agent in the FBI’s Washington, D.C., field office.

The Guardian: “‘I myself, and I would speak for a lot of agents, feel very disrespected by the administration and how this was handled,’ he told the Guardian. Other former agents said the way Comey was fired was an ‘outrage’ and said that the Trump administration’s approach ‘besmirches the reputation of the FBI’.”

Current and former FBI agents alleged that Comey was fired because of his involvement in the Russia investigations:

CBS News: “‘I think he got rid of him because of the Russian investigation,’ one FBI agent told CBS News. ‘They are trying to circle the wagons,’ said the agent, adding Mr. Trump ‘wants his own man on there.’”

Reuters: “‘Trump praised him for the work on the email investigation, so that’s not it,’ said Austin Berglas, a former FBI supervisory agent on hacking cases. ‘I think he realized the extent of the Russia investigation under way and moved him out. To me, that’s the only logical explanation right now.’”

The Guardian: “‘I think it’s going to have a significant chilling effect,’ said Michael Tabman, a former FBI agent who retired in 2007 and frequently comments in the media. ‘I believe this was a warning shot by the president to anybody who gets too close to the investigation.’”

Reuters: “The official said there was concern among agents that the firing was a political act related to the Russian investigation.”