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David Corn: Impeachment Territory - Why Trump's Firing of Comey Should Be Investigated
Why Trump's Firing of Comey Should Be Investigated
This is impeachment territory.
DAVID CORN MAY 10, 2017 9:48 AM
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/05/donald-trump-firing-james-comey-investigation-fbi-russia
There are multiple investigations of the Trump-Russia scandal underway, including two conducted by the House and Senate intelligence committees, one by a Senate judiciary subcommittee, and one (or more) by the FBI. They cover a range of issues: Vladimir Putin's secret operation to subvert the 2016 campaign to help Donald Trump win, interactions between Trump associates and Russia, ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn's contacts with the Russian ambassador (and how the White House handled that controversy, as well as Flynn's acceptance of foreign payments from Russia and other nations and his other business dealings), and, possibly, the business- and lobbying-related actions of Paul Manafort, who managed Trump's campaign, and other people close to Trump. Now there is a need for a new investigation that focuses on Trump's firing of FBI chief James Comey.
This could well be the most serious inquiry of all because it would raise the sensitive issue of impeachment.
When Trump pink-slipped Comey on Tuesday, his Justice Department released a three-page letter with reasons why Comey should be booted. The justifications were all related to how he managed the investigation of Hillary Clinton's emails at the State Department. The criticisms were familiar and old: Comey had gone too far when he first held a press conference in July to declare the investigation was over but harshly criticized Clinton and then informed Congress days before the election that his agents had revived the investigation to review a newly found cache of Clinton emails (which turned out to hold essentially no new information). Of course, Trump enthusiastically praised Comey for his October surprise, because it dealt Clinton a blow in the final days and conceivably helped Trump win. But now, suddenly, Comey's conduct in that episode is supposedly the grounds for Trump showing Comey the door.
The initial news reports tell another story. Various insider accounts—yes, based on anonymous sources—indicate that Trump's firing of Comey was motivated, at least in part, by Trump's anger over the ongoing Russia investigation.
This is impeachment territory.
DAVID CORN MAY 10, 2017 9:48 AM
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/05/donald-trump-firing-james-comey-investigation-fbi-russia
There are multiple investigations of the Trump-Russia scandal underway, including two conducted by the House and Senate intelligence committees, one by a Senate judiciary subcommittee, and one (or more) by the FBI. They cover a range of issues: Vladimir Putin's secret operation to subvert the 2016 campaign to help Donald Trump win, interactions between Trump associates and Russia, ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn's contacts with the Russian ambassador (and how the White House handled that controversy, as well as Flynn's acceptance of foreign payments from Russia and other nations and his other business dealings), and, possibly, the business- and lobbying-related actions of Paul Manafort, who managed Trump's campaign, and other people close to Trump. Now there is a need for a new investigation that focuses on Trump's firing of FBI chief James Comey.
This could well be the most serious inquiry of all because it would raise the sensitive issue of impeachment.
When Trump pink-slipped Comey on Tuesday, his Justice Department released a three-page letter with reasons why Comey should be booted. The justifications were all related to how he managed the investigation of Hillary Clinton's emails at the State Department. The criticisms were familiar and old: Comey had gone too far when he first held a press conference in July to declare the investigation was over but harshly criticized Clinton and then informed Congress days before the election that his agents had revived the investigation to review a newly found cache of Clinton emails (which turned out to hold essentially no new information). Of course, Trump enthusiastically praised Comey for his October surprise, because it dealt Clinton a blow in the final days and conceivably helped Trump win. But now, suddenly, Comey's conduct in that episode is supposedly the grounds for Trump showing Comey the door.
The initial news reports tell another story. Various insider accounts—yes, based on anonymous sources—indicate that Trump's firing of Comey was motivated, at least in part, by Trump's anger over the ongoing Russia investigation.