No question about the water cooler topic of the day – the firing of FBI Director James Comey amidst the Bureau’s investigation of alleged Trump campaign contacts with Russian officials.

Comey’s been a Capitol Hill piñata for months, but his firing still came as a shock. Host Larry Mantle and AirTalk's wide panel of experts dive into deep analysis of the move, its implications and what's expected to come next.

Guests:

Lisa Mascaro, congressional reporter for the LA Times, where she’s been following the story

Ron Hosko, former assistant director of the FBI from 2012 to 2014; president of  the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit organization providing assistance to law enforcement officers who are required to defend their official actions in court

Caroline Heldman, associate professor of politics at Occidental College and co-author of "Rethinking Madam President: Are We Ready for a Woman in the White House?" (Lynne Rienner Pub, 2007)

Sean T. Walsh, Republican political analyst and partner at Wilson Walsh Consulting in San Francisco; he is a former adviser to California Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger and a former White House staffer for Presidents Reagan and H.W. Bush

Lanhee Chen, research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and former policy director for the Romney-Ryan 2012 presidential campaign; he tweets @lanheechen

Ted Lieu, Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing California's 33rd congressional district, including the communities of Torrance and Beverly Hills; he’s on the House Committee on the Judiciary

Harmeet Dhillon, national committeewoman of the California Republican Party; civil rights and business litigation attorney