Read the Newly Released Comey Memos That Helped Launch the Mueller Investigation

Former FBI Director James Comey famously kept detailed memos of his interactions with President Donald Trump before the president fired him. Those memos played a key role in initiating special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

Now, the memos have finally been released. Congressional Republicans pressed for documents, and the Department of Justice decided to comply with the requests Thursday night.

After the memos went to Congress, they were shortly obtained by the Associated Press.

You can read the full memos here.

In the first memo, Comey describes a conversation on Jan. 6, 2017 in which Trump said he had conducted himself "honorably" and that he "had a great reputation." These comments seem to contradict the original reason the president cited for firing Comey.

When Trump fired Comey, he cited a recommendation from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that charged the then-FBI director with mishandling the Hillary Clinton email investigation. The White House also frequently said that the FBI had lost faith in Comey, which required his termination.

These reasons for firing the FBI director conflict with the claim that Comey was behaved "honorably" and "had a great reputation."