Comey's Testimony

metis said:

It's not an iron-clad law or rule, so Trump certainly wouldn't get in trouble for just the meeting alone. There have been times in the past whereas there were private meetings, but ever since Hoover, this has been strongly dissuaded because he was very "political", and in the worst way. When Obama met Comey, for example, he told Comey that this would be the last time there would be direct talks with him without an intermediary. However, I do believe they had two telephone conversations, if my memory is correct.

So, the main question remains as to why Trump kicked everyone out of the room and shut the door just to talk with Comey, and the latter said he felt highly uncomfortable with this maneuver on Trump's part, and rightfully so. When Trump fired Comey, he later spilled the beans as to why he did it, and this should not be ignored.

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Yes, under the circumstances, it does seem questionable, especially since Trump could have gone through the Attorney General.

I sometimes wonder if the higher level cabinet posts should be elective offices unto themselves. They wouldn't be appointed by the President, but elected directly by the people. Just like some state elections might have governor and lieutenant governor elected separately, as well as offices like state attorney general, state treasurer, etc.

Nakosis said:

I think the standard folks are trying to judge Trump by is unrealistic for anyone other than Gandhi or Jesus.

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More like Nixon or Buchanan.

esmith said:

and I'm surprised at the premature victory laps the anti-Trump crowd is taking.

So, I have a suggestion.
Forget about what is going on, it will not make any difference in anyone's lives; that is if they have any beyond ranting and raving about the entire matter.

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So the same people who hung Hillary Clinton for possibly mishandling a couple classified emails now expect us to drop this mess, which is many multiples worse on every level. He has proven he cannot handle sensitive material. He has proven himself to be incompetent. He has lies upon lies upon lies on every front. Nothing he has promised has been true. Not one thing.

How anyone can support him at this point is beyond all understanding.

Underhill said:

So the same people who hung Hillary Clinton for possibly mishandling a couple classified emails now expect us to drop this mess, which is many multiples worse on every level. He has proven he cannot handle sensitive material. He has proven himself to be incompetent. He has lies upon lies upon lies on every front. Nothing he has promised has been true. Not one thing.

How anyone can support him at this point is beyond all understanding.

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To support or not to support....that is not the question.
He is set in motion, & will do what he will do regardless.
So I take neither position...I just watch.
But the opportunity to actually do something about him might arise in 2020.

But you mention Hillary, & her "possibly" mishandling classified emails, as
though she'd be an improvement. Consider that the reasons that many voters
rejected her still apply. Add to this her blaming a couple dozen other entities,
eg, DNC, Comey, Russians, for her loss, while refusing to face her own faults.
She's becoming my favorite comedian.

Revoltingest said:

To support or not to support....that is not the question.
He will do what he will do regardless.
So I take neither position...I just watch.
The opportunity to actually do something about him might arise in 2020.

But you mention Hillary, & her "possibly" mishandling classified emails,
as though she'd be an improvement. Consider the reasons that many
voters rejected her still apply. Add to this her blaming a couple dozen
other entities, eg, DNC, Comey, Russians, for her loss, while refusing
to face her own faults. She's becoming my favorite comedian.

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I never claimed she was faultless. But anyone who sees the current president as an improvement has some serious cognitive issues. He has proven himself to be incompetent on virtually every level.

Underhill said:

I never claimed she was faultless. But anyone who sees the current president as an improvement has some serious cognitive issues. He has proven himself to be incompetent on virtually every level.

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I expected incompetence in running the ship of state because he lacked any political experience.
But contrast this with Hillary's incompetence even after much time in government. And even this
takes a back seat to her record of war lust, crony capitalism, & civil liberties shortcomings.
A wag might say that supporting her bespeaks "some serious cognitive issues".

I actually found myself feeling sorry for McCain. He seemed like someone who was off his meds.

Revoltingest said:

I expected incompetence in running the ship of state because he lacked any political experience.
But contrast this with Hillary's incompetence even after much time in government. And even this
takes a back seat to her record of war lust, crony capitalism, & civil liberties shortcomings.
A wag might say that supporting her bespeaks "some serious cognitive issues".

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Seriously? Her incompetence? She knew when to keep her mouth shut. Was an asset in foreign relations negotiations and not a disaster. Her biggest problem was she used her private phone for communications, which Trump is also doing (along with tweeting whatever idiocy pops into his head).

The ironic part is that he is so bad he is helping the opposition. Comparisons to Wiley Coyote are apt. He consistently seems to trip himself up.

Underhill said:

Seriously? Her incompetence? She knew when to keep her mouth shut.

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She's now demonstrating the opposite....blaming everyone but herself for her loss.
A smart person would face reality, & not live in a world of excuses & sour grapes.
It's really quite entertaining to watch her melt down....I'm still glad she's not in office.

Was an asset in foreign relations negotiations and not a disaster. Her biggest problem was she used her private phone for communications, which Trump is also doing (along with tweeting whatever idiocy pops into his head).

The ironic part is that he is so bad he is helping the opposition. Comparisons to Wiley Coyote are apt. He consistently seems to trip himself up.

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I imagine that Trump is pretty entertaining to those who want to see him fail or even impeached.

Revoltingest said:

She's now demonstrating the opposite....blaming everyone but herself for her loss.
A smart person would face reality, & not live in a world of excuses & sour grapes.
It's really quite entertaining to watch her melt down....I'm still glad she's not in office.

I imagine that Trump is pretty entertaining to those who want to see him fail or even impeached.

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Entertaining when he isn't scaring the **** out of me. While I expect failure, I'd rather he not send us to our ruin.

Revoltingest said:

Were you a landlord, you'd quickly learn.
One should be a good shot & an even better diplomat/counselor.

Note:
Do not interpret the above as a suggestion that you become a landlord.
I'd never wish that upon you.

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I thought about it, looked at all the pros and cons. Not for me. My BS tolerance is too low - especially, when I have money involved.

That being said, I'm sure this guy Comey would make a fine landlord.

Underhill said:

Entertaining when he isn't scaring the **** out of me. While I expect failure, I'd rather he not send us to our ruin.

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Aye, let us avoid ruin.

Kilgore Trout said:

That being said, I'm sure this guy Comey would make a fine landlord.

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He's too tall.

Grumpuss said:

Because he said quite a bit in direct opposite in his last May testimony before Congress to what he said today.

Comey Admits Under Oath That Obstructions To Investigations "Never Happened" | Zero Hedge

So previously, he said he "was never pressured to end an investigation for political purposes" and today he delivers testimony that he had. What's changed ? Nothing, except the guy was fired in the interim.

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This is pretty interesting to me. I wish it had been addressed and clarified in the testimony.

Here's a more neutral source.

While I agree that a case can be made that he answered the question specifically with the justice department in mind-- and we have seen how careful and narrowly people frame their answers when testifying-- it is odd that he would choose to say that such a thing has not happened in his experience.

Two other considerations:
1) he was laying groundwork that such an action would be a "big deal", to foreshadow the eventual revelation of Trump's actions. (But why include that pesky last line?)

2) He has stated his reasons for not mentioning Trump's behavior before now, namely that it would adversely affect the investigation.

Honestly, though, this needs to be clarified.

Grumpuss said:

I don't really care. The director of the FBI serves at the pleasure of the President, and is under direct control of the executive branch. He's not an independent office.

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It's a balancing act. While the FBI is under the executive branch it does need independence in order to remain credible, and non-political.

We gotta be careful of slippery slopes and shifting norms, as the power usually doesn't go away when new presidents are elected.

Grumpuss said:

Yes, it looks bad to fire someone for incompetence in the midst of an investigation into the president's staff. But let's not forget that this is a guy that the Left hated all the way up until January - February of this year, when it appeared he could be a useful tool. If Hillary Clinton had won the last election, he probably would've been fired by her, and then called upon by Republicans in Congress to give up dirt on her. And Comey, idiot that he is, probably would've shown up, acting hurt about that one...

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I agree. And if Comey had simply been fired for incompetence-- as was the original explanation-- and before 4 months had already passed, people probably would have barely batted an eye.

But Trump killed that narrative.

Underhill said:

More like Nixon or Buchanan.

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If Trump gets convicted of a crime or impeached, I think this is a fair statement. At this point however I think it's more wishful thinking.

esmith said:

and I'm surprised at the premature victory laps the anti-Trump crowd is taking.

So, I have a suggestion.
Forget about what is going on, it will not make any difference in anyone's lives; that is if they have any beyond ranting and raving about the entire matter.

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I have another suggestion: we can wait for the investigation to take place and see what comes out of it instead of pretending that there's nothing going on. I'd say making sure our country's top officials aren't colluding with a foreign power and/or obstructing justice is rather important, wouldn't you?

And I don't think any Trump supporters have any room to comment on others rantings and ravings since that's all they've done for the past 8 years. Stones, glass houses and all that.

Jayhawker Soule said:

I actually found myself feeling sorry for McCain. He seemed like someone who was off his meds.

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I haven't cared for the man for a number of years, but after this performance he really needs to be put out to pasture.

I don't think anything came out of the testimony.

It's still a wait and see.

I felt it was more of a man defending his reputation and the reputation of his organization which I can agree with. Trump could have been more careful as to how he described the director and the FBI. Last thing you want to do is run them under a bus. Of course, they will defend themselves to no ends.

The president might seem like the boss in most of these relationships but he's really a political peer even to his subordinates. He doesn't actually own any of the organizations or is paying the paychecks. This isn't a business hierarchy where people get to the top not by making more money for the organization.

He needs to see ahead multiple steps to prevent these unneeded escalations. These escalations are taking away from his limelight. He has little political and legal experience to be able to spider sense these escalations and it seems the team he's assembled is not helping either. Man, it's a mess.

The Democrats are repeatedly drawing attention to the fact that Comey testified under oath, and seem intent on having Trump do so as well.

I don't understand.

Trump, a near pathological liar, will simply lie, and his pathetic GOP minions will fall in line as they've done repeatedly. Trying hard to get Trump to lie under oath makes sense only if they believe that they can prove perjury, and this would strongly suggest that they know something (and have something) that has yet to be made public.

Interesting ... or maybe I'm just suffering from false hope.

Falvlun said:

This is pretty interesting to me. I wish it had been addressed and clarified in the testimony.

Here's a more neutral source.

While I agree that a case can be made that he answered the question specifically with the justice department in mind-- and we have seen how careful and narrowly people frame their answers when testifying-- it is odd that he would choose to say that such a thing has not happened in his experience.

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That's because there's a strong possibility that both men are idiots.

Two other considerations:
1) he was laying groundwork that such an action would be a "big deal", to foreshadow the eventual revelation of Trump's actions. (But why include that pesky last line?)

2) He has stated his reasons for not mentioning Trump's behavior before now, namely that it would adversely affect the investigation.

Honestly, though, this needs to be clarified.

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...Or being fired changes Comey's perception. I wouldn't put it past him to have at least embellished a lot of his story. Seizing upon a single, flawed source as "truth" is not the way justice should be pursued.

It's a balancing act. While the FBI is under the executive branch it does need independence in order to remain credible, and non-political.

We gotta be careful of slippery slopes and shifting norms, as the power usually doesn't go away when new presidents are elected.

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No FBI director has ever been fired, that's true. But Comey might represent the occasion where it's justified. C'mon- people only give a damn about this because of the timing.

I agree. And if Comey had simply been fired for incompetence-- as was the original explanation-- and before 4 months had already passed, people probably would have barely batted an eye.

But Trump killed that narrative.

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No argument there. Except Comey's testimony doesn't add up to Trump's impeachment, wishful thinking notwithstanding.