Trump Fires FBI Director James Comey

[redwood66]

Stephen Colbert's audience cheered when he announced almost in real time that Trump fired Comey. Honest reaction, until he and the media then tells them what to think. Glad that was caught on tape.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/life...a563a4-358c-11e7-b373-418f6849a004_story.html

 

[t-c]

Dude, like I said, read more carefully before you post. The conversation was about the Benghazi investigation, among others. My response to AnnaH was that I would like this investigation to be like the Benghazi investigation in it's resourcing level and bulldog intensity.

Your response is about the Benghazi "coverup". This is not relevant to either AnnaH's or my post, unless you are saying that the Republican investigation is actually a coverup. Like I said, read more carefully and become more informed.

 

[AnnaH]

tc wrote
With Trump, firing Comey when he did looks like he's trying to obstruct and influence an ongoing investigation. What is so hard to understand about this?

tc, just because it looks like that to you doesn't make it so. What's to understand?
Maybe there was a better way to go about it, but I'm glad Comey is gone. Better late than never. I don't trust him to run such a powerful law enforcement agency as the FBI.


I didn't bother giving a real answer to another poster because the poster just wanted to be snarky, but I'll answer now as some may have forgotten what happened.
Comey's boss, Lynch, met with Bill Clinton just before Comey's report on Hillary's server and Emails. I don't know for sure what Comey's motive was, but it appears that he was covering for Lynch. After being caught with Bill Clinton, it would have been difficult for Lynch to give HRC a pass. Comey did it for her.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Stephen Colbert's audience cheered when he announced almost in real time that Trump fired Comey. Honest reaction, until he and the media then tells them what to think. Glad that was caught on tape.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/life...a563a4-358c-11e7-b373-418f6849a004_story.html

He had a bad night, b/c the audience was full of Reps..

 

[Dancing Fire]

Comey's boss, Lynch, met with Bill Clinton just before Comey's report on Hillary's server and Emails. I don't know for sure what Comey's motive was, but it appears that he was covering for Lynch. After being caught with Bill Clinton, it would have been difficult for Lynch to give HRC a pass. Comey did it for her.

No big deal!...They were just exchanging brownie recipes for 45 mins...

 

[MollyMalone]

* * * I didn't bother giving a real answer to another poster because the poster just wanted to be snarky, but I'll answer now as some may have forgotten what happened.
Comey's boss, Lynch, met with Bill Clinton just before Comey's report on Hillary's server and Emails. I don't know for sure what Comey's motive was, but it appears that he was covering for Lynch. After being caught with Bill Clinton, it would have been difficult for Lynch to give HRC a pass. Comey did it for her.

Lynch wasn't in a position to give HRC a pass. She'd previously announced -- after she/members of her staff stupidly didn't tell Bill Clinton that he was an idiot, he should turn his ass around & get off the plane she was on -- that she would abide by whatever the conclusions from the FBI Director in consultation with the senior, career prosecutors at the Department of Justice ended up being.

That's why the 3rd paragraph of Rod Rosenstein's memo
https://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/d...s-from-the-white-house-attorney-general/2430/
-- which begins with The Director was wrong to usurp the Attorney General's authority on July 5, 2016, and announce his conclusion that the case should be closed without prosecution -- is such maddeningly misleading BS.

I again (posted this yesterday on the 1st page of this thread) highly recommend The True Story of the Comey Letter Debacle, which was published in the March print edition of Vanity Fair (where VF's most substantive articles appear), as well as the web site. It's rather long, but it offers excellent, nuanced perspective and background from a variety of sources:
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/02/james-comey-fbi-director-letter

 

[Arkteia]

He who liveth by the stolen election dieth by the stolen election.

(From the person who was devastated when Hillary lost) - but was the election really stolen from her? HRC needed to take only three states, WI, MI and PA, she'd be our president now. Good or bad, who knows, at least, adequate. https://news.vice.com/story/hillary...-democrats-in-key-states-didnt-bother-to-vote

Part of it could have been Sanders splitting the vote, but the bigger reason was lack of trust and respect of political establishment. Both parties, in a way, performed equally poorly. And until people do not honestly acknowledge is, nothing will change.

 

[MollyMalone]

Jim Comey's farewell letter. It begins
To all:
I have long believed that a President can fire an FBI Director for any reason, or for no reason at all. I'm not going to spend time on the decision or the way it was executed. I hope you won't either. It is done, and I will be fine, although I will miss you and the mission deeply.
and ends with
Working with you has been one of the great joys of my life. Thank you for that gift.
Jim Comey

Full text here:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/10/politics/james-comey-farewell-letter/index.html

 

[t-c]

tc, just because it looks like that to you doesn't make it so. What's to understand?
Maybe there was a better way to go about it, but I'm glad Comey is gone. Better late than never. I don't trust him to run such a powerful law enforcement agency as the FBI.

There is a reason many people, including me, are questioning this move. This isn't pizza-gate with random made-up stories. We all had seen Trump repeatedly praising Comey for his courage in handling the H.Clinton email investigation (fact), him declaring his confidence in Comey on April 12 (fact), then less than a month later seen him firing that same person (fact). What changed in that month? This is a question worth asking (maybe not to you) because this is an important position (as you yourself said), because this is a guy who is in charge of an investigation that reaches into the White House and could conceivably involve the guy who fired him, because of the less-than-convincing, shifting reasons given for his firing.

In the position of President of the United States, optics matter, motives matter, words matter (although unfortunately less and less). There is already an investigation into Comey's handling of the email investigation -- why not wait until then to ask for his resignation as there was no urgency to get rid of him right there and then. But because Trump and his staff are so clueless, he's exposed himself once again to questions about his integrity.

I don't care for Trump, but I do care for the presidency, the courts, and rules of law as institutions and the current administration's mind-bending incompetence is degrading them.

I didn't bother giving a real answer to another poster because the poster just wanted to be snarky, but I'll answer now as some may have forgotten what happened.
Comey's boss, Lynch, met with Bill Clinton just before Comey's report on Hillary's server and Emails. I don't know for sure what Comey's motive was, but it appears that he was covering for Lynch. After being caught with Bill Clinton, it would have been difficult for Lynch to give HRC a pass. Comey did it for her.

Regarding the Lynch and Clinton encounter, I'll use your words: just because it looks like that to you doesn't make it so. But then you don't seem to apply the same standard to the Clintons. @MollyMalone presents an explanation based on Lynch's press conference and news sources and is consistent with how the email investigation was handled: Comey was in the forefront and felt it was proper for him to conduct the news conferences. Even when he was poised to shatter the policy of not making announcements so close to the election, Lynch didn't feel able to order him down.

 

[Tekate]

He said she broke the law but no grand jury investigation..

who said she broke the law?

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,
I don't know if this has already posted. but I will post it again.

The FBI director is appointed for 10 yrs. He can be fired by the President, of course, but it must be for cause. If you think the treatment of HRC is the reason Comey was fired , you haven't been paying attention to how much praise the Fake Pres heaped upon him. So this was a manufactured cause that makes no sense. This Pres is trying to obstruct justice and trying to still show Pres Obama wiretapped him. The man is mentally deficient.

I do agree that Bill Clinton has a part in the blame for the Comey situation. Loretta Lynch recused herself, and Comey did go rogue when he announced the conclusion of the HRC investigation.

Comey was fired because he was expanding the Russia investigation and he would not back DJT assertion Obama wiretapped him. This is why some people are calling this a Constitutional Crisis.
He was fired to obstruct the investigation.

Annette

Annette

 

[Tekate]

Good point, Kate. Nothing much happens to the Washington elites.

I'd go further than that, nothing happens to political elites period, whether they are democrat or republican. With Bill Clinton, one searched long enough that they found out about the tawdry affair..although now affairs don't mean anything.. Clinton did get impeached but he was acquitted by his party in the senate. Now, we elect cheaters and liars.. what the heck.

As to Trump, it's very suspicious that he fired Comey after singing and unsinging, singing and unsinging his praises. I don't even think it's Russia, I think Trump fired him because he woudn't indict Clinton (because there was no case)..

 

[Tekate]

Hi,
I don't know if this has already posted. but I will post it again.

The FBI director is appointed for 10 yrs. He can be fired by the President, of course, but it must be for cause. If you think the treatment of HRC is the reason Comey was fired , you haven't been paying attention to how much praise the Fake Pres heaped upon him. So this was a manufactured cause that makes no sense. This Pres is trying to obstruct justice and trying to still show Pres Obama wiretapped him. The man is mentally deficient.

I do agree that Bill Clinton has a part in the blame for the Comey situation. Loretta Lynch recused herself, and Comey did go rogue when he announced the conclusion of the HRC investigation.

Comey was fired because he was expanding the Russia investigation and he would not back DJT assertion Obama wiretapped him. This is why some people are calling this a Constitutional Crisis.
He was fired to obstruct the investigation.

Annette

Annette

which fake press? Fox or NYtimes

 

[Tekate]

No big deal!...They were just exchanging brownie recipes for 45 mins...

Well, they said they were talking about grandkids. I guess phones don't work when one politician is trying influence another, they have to meet on a tarmac and hangout..

 

[redwood66]

While the optics could be construed as bad on the timing, you (collective) don't know it is because of Russia that Comey was let go. You assume, along with many others in the media (or maybe because of them), because you want to. If there is ever any evidence of collusion with the Russians and Trump's campaign, and there is evidence that a crime was committed, it will be handled appropriately by the FBI. Flynn is in hot water and rightly so. He could be indicted along with others. Do you honestly think that Trump of all people could cover anything up? Or that people in the government would let him with his WH leaking like a sieve? Please. He is a booby of the first order and gets what he deserves from the media at times. But this outrageous lunacy of the left is ridiculous. I realize you are afraid but that gets you nowhere in your daily life and is not healthy.

 

[MollyMalone]

* * * The FBI director is appointed for 10 yrs. He can be fired by the President, of course, but it must be for cause. * * *

Just as a general fyi: being the Director of the FBI is not a civil service position, where you cannot be fired absent cause & some measure of due process. 40+ years ago, Congress designated the position as one with a 10-year term, but as Mr. Comey said in his farewell letter yesterday to FBI staffers, a Director can be fired for any reason, or for no reason at all. There are no statutory restrictions on that.

 

[redwood66]

Molly is right. The appointed positions are at-will employees serving at the pleasure of the president.

 

[smitcompton]

hI,
tHANK YOU mOLLY & rED. I STAND CORRECTED. I must now develop some new theories.
Annette

 

[Tekate]

While the optics could be construed as bad on the timing, you (collective) don't know it is because of Russia that Comey was let go. You assume, along with many others in the media (or maybe because of them), because you want to. If there is ever any evidence of collusion with the Russians and Trump's campaign, and there is evidence that a crime was committed, it will be handled appropriately by the FBI. Flynn is in hot water and rightly so. He could be indicted along with others. Do you honestly think that Trump of all people could cover anything up? Or that people in the government would let him with his WH leaking like a sieve? Please. He is a booby of the first order and gets what he deserves from the media at times. But this outrageous lunacy of the left is ridiculous. I realize you are afraid but that gets you nowhere in your daily life and is not healthy.

Red, the left felt exactly what you feel now about the Clinton emails.. I thought it not healthy how the right only read Fox, Brietbart, Town Caller etc..

YES I think Trump would cover up anything. Anytime it suits, I grew up on him living in NY, hes scummier than pond scum, I read back in the 60s and 70s. I trust NOT any Trump. I think you confuse anger with fear, nothing Trump does makes me fearful, he's a loon, but I dislike his policies, and especially all his lying.. he's Liar in Chief.. I cannot abide that.

ETA: http://www.journalism.org/2017/05/1...ws-media-deeply-divided-along-partisan-lines/

 

[VapidLapid]

Trump is just a mobster, and not even the man at the top. He will say and do anything to get what he wants, hinder any scrutiny of his actions, or to distract from what he is really up to. As he has always been only a thug it does not come as much of a surprise. What is incredibly alarming is how many republicans in congress are so easily squandering their integrity supporting him and becoming complicit is helping to cover up his misdeeds.

 

[AnnaH]

There is a reason many people, including me, are questioning this move. This isn't pizza-gate with random made-up stories. We all had seen Trump repeatedly praising Comey for his courage in handling the H.Clinton email investigation (fact), him declaring his confidence in Comey on April 12 (fact), then less than a month later seen him firing that same person (fact). What changed in that month? This is a question worth asking (maybe not to you) because this is an important position (as you yourself said), because this is a guy who is in charge of an investigation that reaches into the White House and could conceivably involve the guy who fired him, because of the less-than-convincing, shifting reasons given for his firing.

In the position of President of the United States, optics matter, motives matter, words matter (although unfortunately less and less). There is already an investigation into Comey's handling of the email investigation -- why not wait until then to ask for his resignation as there was no urgency to get rid of him right there and then. But because Trump and his staff are so clueless, he's exposed himself once again to questions about his integrity.

I don't care for Trump, but I do care for the presidency, the courts, and rules of law as institutions and the current administration's mind-bending incompetence is degrading them.



Regarding the Lynch and Clinton encounter, I'll use your words: just because it looks like that to you doesn't make it so. But then you don't seem to apply the same standard to the Clintons. @MollyMalone presents an explanation based on Lynch's press conference and news sources and is consistent with how the email investigation was handled: Comey was in the forefront and felt it was proper for him to conduct the news conferences. Even when he was poised to shatter the policy of not making announcements so close to the election, Lynch didn't feel able to order him down.

I stated that I don't know Comey's motives. I have more than one theory. Regardless of motive, he should not have been so public, nor acted as if he were the AG. On the other hand, Democrats state confidently that Trump fired Comey because Comey was proving Trump colluded/is colluding with Russia. Unfortunately for them, they have no proof. Rather than trusting the FBI investigation or the congressional investigations, they want a special prosecutor. I think that's because that process will drag on affecting the next election. I think the Democrats will get their special prosecutor.

Why does Trump speak out of both sides of his mouth? For the same reason Schumer and the rest of them do--politics. Well, that explains it for the others, who knows with Trump? tc, I agree that optics surrounding Trump generally and the many things he says are problematic. Because he doesn't know how to play the Washington game or doesn't care to (maybe both) doesn't mean he is President because he colluded with Russia.

Senate seems to be asking all the right questions of the FBI today. Don't know how much they will learn publically. They won't say whether or not Trump is being investigated or whether or not Comey discussed this with Trump. McCabe did say that they had enough resources for the Russian investigation.

While I don't think Trump colluded with Russia, he may have tried to get info from Comey or influence him. Not saying this happened, but if it did (I hope not) it will be revealed.

 

[AnnaH]

Hi,
I don't know if this has already posted. but I will post it again.

The FBI director is appointed for 10 yrs. He can be fired by the President, of course, but it must be for cause. If you think the treatment of HRC is the reason Comey was fired , you haven't been paying attention to how much praise the Fake Pres heaped upon him. So this was a manufactured cause that makes no sense. This Pres is trying to obstruct justice and trying to still show Pres Obama wiretapped him. The man is mentally deficient.

I do agree that Bill Clinton has a part in the blame for the Comey situation. Loretta Lynch recused herself, and Comey did go rogue when he announced the conclusion of the HRC investigation.

Comey was fired because he was expanding the Russia investigation and he would not back DJT assertion Obama wiretapped him. This is why some people are calling this a Constitutional Crisis.
He was fired to obstruct the investigation.

Annette

Annette

Smit, Lynch did not recuse herself. She said she expected that she would accept the FBI recommendation, which she did.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

Thanks Anna for the correction. Seems I am a learner this morning. That's OK with me.

Annette

 

[AnnaH]

I'd go further than that, nothing happens to political elites period, whether they are democrat or republican. With Bill Clinton, one searched long enough that they found out about the tawdry affair..although now affairs don't mean anything.. Clinton did get impeached but he was acquitted by his party in the senate. Now, we elect cheaters and liars.. what the heck.

As to Trump, it's very suspicious that he fired Comey after singing and unsinging, singing and unsinging his praises. I don't even think it's Russia, I think Trump fired him because he woudn't indict Clinton (because there was no case)..

I believe Trump when he said, after the election, that he didn't want to go after HRC.
IMO, Trump fired Comey either because of general job performance or because Trump was frustrated because Comey wasn't clearing him quickly enough or coming up with conclusions regarding surveillance by the previous administration.
Either way, I don't expect Trump will get away with anything here. Has a President ever been so hated? I have my problems with him, but I hope he succeeds for our country.

 

[AnnaH]

Hi,

Thanks Anna for the correction. Seems I am a learner this morning. That's OK with me.

Annette

Learners make the best teachers, right?

 

[t-c]

Never mind. It was already corrected earlier re: Lynch and her non-recusal from the email investigation.

 

[jaaron]

While the optics could be construed as bad on the timing, you (collective) don't know it is because of Russia that Comey was let go. You assume, along with many others in the media (or maybe because of them), because you want to. If there is ever any evidence of collusion with the Russians and Trump's campaign, and there is evidence that a crime was committed, it will be handled appropriately by the FBI. Flynn is in hot water and rightly so. He could be indicted along with others. Do you honestly think that Trump of all people could cover anything up? Or that people in the government would let him with his WH leaking like a sieve? Please. He is a booby of the first order and gets what he deserves from the media at times. But this outrageous lunacy of the left is ridiculous. I realize you are afraid but that gets you nowhere in your daily life and is not healthy.

I think I have mentioned before that I have worked previously in the media. I think it's interesting that you believe reporting is based on 'assumptions'. I hate to tell you, but 99 percent of the time, it doesn't work that way, or anywhere near that way at any reputable outlet.

Yeah, I think they would certainly try. There are far too many people, both in the oval office and in elected offices who, for better or worse, have hitched their wagons to his crazy train. They've got way too much riding on him. If he goes, they go, and their careers and any shred of respect they have left go too. Pence, for example, has now been repeatedly placed, by multiple sources, in receipt of information about Flynn that he claims not to have had.

And some of us, who actually have traditionally leaned centre on everything but social issues, think the outrageous lunacy is occupying the oval office. But I will be interested to see how those of you who are apparently too sensible to recognise or call out that particular piece of lunacy feel a couple of years down the line.

Just as a general fyi: being the Director of the FBI is not a civil service position, where you cannot be fired absent cause & some measure of due process. 40+ years ago, Congress designated the position as one with a 10-year term, but as Mr. Comey said in his farewell letter yesterday to FBI staffers, a Director can be fired for any reason, or for no reason at all. There are no statutory restrictions on that.

Although obstruction of justice probably falls outside of that purview. It is what did Nixon in, after all. We'll have to see what happens.

 

[t-c]

I believe Trump when he said, after the election, that he didn't want to go after HRC.
IMO, Trump fired Comey either because of general job performance or because Trump was frustrated because Comey wasn't clearing him quickly enough or coming up with conclusions regarding surveillance by the previous administration.
Either way, I don't expect Trump will get away with anything here. Has a President ever been so hated? I have my problems with him, but I hope he succeeds for our country.

Yeah, Obama. Do I need to list what was done? At least Trump has only faced protest -- and fairly peaceful ones at that. No one is asking him to show his birth certificate, or saying that he should be 'hung...from the portico of the White House' (Trump's butler), or yelling out "liar" while he spoke in Congress (even though if anyone deserves it...).

 

[redwood66]

Yeah, Obama. Do I need to list what was done? At least Trump has only faced protest -- and fairly peaceful ones at that. No one is asking him to show his birth certificate, or saying that he should be 'hung...from the portico of the White House' (Trump's butler), or yelling out "liar" while he spoke in Congress (even though if anyone deserves it...).

No one here was doing any of that regarding Obama. And those who did elsewhere were in the wrong.

 

[redwood66]

I believe Trump when he said, after the election, that he didn't want to go after HRC.
IMO, Trump fired Comey either because of general job performance or because Trump was frustrated because Comey wasn't clearing him quickly enough or coming up with conclusions regarding surveillance by the previous administration.
Either way, I don't expect Trump will get away with anything here. Has a President ever been so hated? I have my problems with him, but I hope he succeeds for our country.

I did not want him to go after her. I wrote to the WH to ask that he not because I just wanted her to go away. It was better for the country that she did.