I think I'm going to be sick. Angus King just said that Comey has pretty serious credibility

[StevieM]

with everyone. That is such an appalling thing to say.

Jim Comey led an assault on our democracy to help defeat the Democratic candidate. The fact that he doesn't like one particular Republican is irrelevant.

Maybe Comey has his limits. He wasn't willing to issue a bogus indictment recommendation that would never make it through a grand jury (which will ordinarily indict a ham sandwich). And he wasn't willing to ignore treason, at least not after the election was over. That doesn't excuse the fact that he took illegitimate actions to get a Republican elected who otherwise would not have been elected.

We should not be lionizing this man. Our democracy is under assault from the GOP and most of the blame for that cannot be laid at Donald Trump's doorstep. The fact that Trump is a criminal who sold out our country is a totally separate issue. And it does not erase the very large issue that exists independent of him.

ON EDIT: And now I am listening to Representative Elijah Cummings, a man I greatly admire, say that Comey has always been a pretty straight shooter. This is so ridiculous.

[MFM008]

1. The maggot hating part of me

Is gleeful.
The rest weeps. My dad spent 25 years in USAF.
20 years in VA helping vets.
That part is very, very sad.

[nycbos]

2. So did Cummings

[Cooley Hurd]

3. You got a better witness against the shitgibbon?

[groundloop]

54. Very true.... however I have to agree with the OP - it was Comey who got us in this mess

If not for his bullshit memo it's pretty clear that Hillary would have won the election. Pres. Obama, in my opinion, should have fired Comey for interfering in an election. But that didn't happen and now we're here... from a pragmatic point of view Comey is now probably the best witness there is against 45*. I despise him yet at the same time hope that he does a good job in presenting the truth about 45*.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

4. What part of it is in our interest to bolster Comey at this juncture don't you understand ?

[StevieM]

7. I understand the argument. I disagree with it. There will be another assault on democracy

down the line. We should not be legitimatizing GOP tactics, or they will get away with them again.

[emulatorloo]

5. Unrec. His reputation/credibility is why the Trump/Russia investigation continues.

Nobody is asking you to "lionize" anybody.

As Cooley Hurd so elegantly put it:

"You got a better witness against the shitgibbon?"

[Cooley Hurd]

15. Not elegant, but cuts to the chase...

[nocalflea]

58. Ah , the "common touch". And strategically pragmatic. Ever run for office ?

[Cooley Hurd]

68. Nah, I'm more the Lonesome Rhodes type...

[nocalflea]

70. That's a selling point - "Rugged individualist" ,blah ,blah,blah...

Damn ! Our loss.

[anneboleyn]

49. Exactly. Unfortunately, this is the position we are in -- politics and strange bedfellows, etc.

Comey is one of the few people who could bring Trump and his appalling regime down.

[yallerdawg]

6. At least "mildly nauseous."

Hillary Clinton said that if not for a controversial letter from FBI Director James Comey and Russian meddling in the election, she would be sitting in the Oval Office right now.

THIS is what Comey should be remembered for - in infamy.

[StevieM]

8. Comey was much more of a factor than the Russians were. The main impact of the Russians

was to give Comey's letter that much more potential to do damage. It made people more likely to assume the worst when Comey set out to destroy her candidacy (again. He had already gone after her at least two other times).

[emulatorloo]

10. Comey's letter was classified. Chaffetz is the one who leaked it to the press.

Not Comey.

[StevieM]

13. Yeah, but Comey knew it would leak. He should not have sent it out.

And, yes, you are correct. Jason Chaffetz is a criminal.

[emulatorloo]

14. You must have exceptional mind reading abilities.

[StevieM]

19. I think it was reported that Comey was told by other people it was certain to leak.

Someone said something to him like: "You're going to make Donald Trump president."

Also, Chaffetz has been leaking left and right.

Besides, Comey also screwed up on a number of previous occasions, like when he held that disgusting press conference in July.

[riversedge]

30. You are right--Comey knew it would leak. and I do think it was Comey

that was the ultimate factor leading to Hillary's losing.

I was out canvassing a lot for her. Generally good vibes when I ws knocking on doors. But lots of doubt expressed last 2 weekends that I was out canvassing. The mood had change once Comey's letter was out about the emails.


I could see it and feel it. I was and remaim devastated. But, if we can bring Trump down--and some Repugs with him, i am willing to give Comey credit and hope it will help bring trump down. It will be bittersweet.

[yallerdawg]

17. Wrong.

Comey's letter was not classified, and in his letter to the FBI employees, he mentions "the American people" had the right to know.

Of course, we don’t ordinarily tell Congress about ongoing investigations, but here I feel an obligation to do so given that I testified repeatedly in recent months that our investigation was completed. I also think it would be misleading to the American people were we not to supplement the record.  At the same time, however, given that we don’t know the significance of this newly discovered collection of emails, I don’t want to create a misleading impression.  In trying to strike that balance, in a brief letter and in the middle of an election season, there is significant risk of being misunderstood, but I wanted you to hear directly from me about it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/10/28/read-the-letter-comey-sent-to-fbi-employees-explaining-his-controversial-decision-on-the-clinton-email-investigation/?utm_term=.eb2bfbdff534

[StevieM]

34. Thank you for posting this. (eom)

[emulatorloo]

51. So you're claiming Chaffetz didn't leak Comey's letter to the press? Lol

I recall reporting at the time that indicated Chaffetz tweeted the Comey letter before Democrats even saw it.

Have a great night!

[Egnever]

62. You are of course right

https://thinkprogress.org/trump-chaffetz-fbi-investigation-lies-e9fff5359102

FBI Director James Comey alerted Republican members of Congress on Friday that bureau investigators would review some additional emails that might relate to Hillary Clinton’s email server. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee who has already vowed to spend the next several years investigating Clinton should she be elected president, quickly rushed to announce the news, falsely claiming that the case had been “reopened.”

[bettyellen]

26. I think he see now hat there was coordinated manipulation x

Going in to force him to put the info. I got the feeling he knows it was a mistake.

[SaschaHM]

9. What are they supposed to do?

Bash the man and call him an incompetent liar when his word is going to be at the center of the biggest scandal yet to hit the Trump Administration?

If I had to make the choice between worrying about your feelings and inflicting a lasting blow to the Trump administration, I'd choose the latter every time. I would hope Politicians would do the latter as well.

[geek tragedy]

11. Comey is our best vehicle for taking Tr*mp down, so they're being smart about this.

We need to be pragmatic and deal with 45 in 2017, not dwelling on 2016.

[Cooley Hurd]

18. Yes!

[Madam45for2923]

37. Exactly!

[anneboleyn]

50. Exactly. We are in a shitty position but it's the best we've got right now.

[procon]

12. Its not unreasonable to be cautious until the actual memo is released.

Comey wants his day in court so he can publically buff up his reputation as the impeccable boy scout, and kneecap Trump on live TV in open session. I have no doubt Comey maintained a Book of Secrets (it's common practice for many high level managers) where the Memo is safely sealed and awaiting the day he makes the grand reveal that documents Trump's obstruction of justice and paves the way for his impeachment.

[uponit7771]

16. +1

[annabanana]

20. fight binary thinking.

He can be wrong then and right now. He has been badly treated by this admin, and he knows where the bodies are buried.

[Egnever]

38. !!

[Iggo]

21. I just hope he takes down Trumpco.

I ain't lionizing nobody.

[Ilsa]

22. Comey can now be a useful tool.

Let Cummings praise him on tv, no matter how pissed we are at his decisions about HRC. If comey's reputation supports dft's impeachment, then I'm thrilled. Hell, I'll write him a love letter if it'll get rid of trump.

[ucrdem]

23. Thank you.

The man is a wingnut and flaunted it in Barack's face. He ran that stupid Hillary investigation for three freaking years and can't NOT have known what we all knew from the get go, that it was a total sham. That nightclub murder happened on his watch, and the San Bernardino shootings happened on his watch, and more that I won't go into. I get that he's a fellow victim of Frankenstein's monster but don't forget that he's proud of his star turn as Dr. Frankenstein and doesn't regret it. He isn't going to be of any use to Democrats EVER. I can guarantee it.

[yallerdawg]

27. Yeah, he's been making these memos since February?

Kind of like investigating the Trump campaign since July.

Obviously, he never intended to use his "J Edgar Hoover" files on Trump - but NOW they're being divulged by 'reliable sources.'

And now everybody must jump aboard the Good Comey train!

[Blue_true]

24. Are you serious? Comey is our best case against a liar. nt

[WinkyDink]

25. Strategy, StevieM; strategy. ;-)

[yallerdawg]

28. My 10,000th post.

Fuck Comey!

[ucrdem]

29. Every post a quality post!

I've bookmarked several!

[yallerdawg]

35. I know we've shared some battles the last few years!

Although I'm a big fan of 'moral relativism' (I am a Democrat!), I still like to think we stay pretty consistent in our principles and values!

I had to show my family my personal 'impact on the internet.' 10,000 posts.

All they wanted to know was, "How many STFU's do you get daily?"

Besides at home.

L'chaim, ucrdem!

[ucrdem]

71. Backatcha yallerdawg!

Yeah looking to Comey to ride in and save our bacon is like hiring Al Capone to keep the gangsters from breaking the windows. I caught some of Rachel's show at the gym earlier and I realize this is not the prevailing sentiment, so apologies to anyone who disagrees, but when you think about it, there's nothing Comey can do at this point to help Dems even if he wanted to. All he can do is hasten the installation of Mike Pence who would present a more formidable challenge in 2020 than Trump who looks to be a cinch to run against.

[StevieM]

32. Congratulations on 10K posts. And I think you will be glad, many years from now, that you used

you 10,000th post to denounce a man who has done extraordinary damage to our country.

[GliderGuider]

31. Ever think you might have been wrong about him? nt

[StevieM]

33. Good to see you here, GliderGuider.

No, I don't believe I was wrong about him. I think he is a threat to our Republic, even if in a different way than Trump.

And I think he did the wrong thing time and time and time and time again.

[Madam45for2923]

36. I am in Angus King, and Elijah Cummings camp! Comey was doing the work to investigate Trump

I believe that Obama knew that Comey was going to be investigating Trump.

Trump/Russia collusion investigation is a priority for me. No way am gonna put down DEMs or Comey at this moment.

[ecstatic]

39. I really don't like Comey as a person, but he's useful right now

I think he's an arrogant, insubordinate (to Loretta Lynch) hypocrite who should have felt WAY more than just "mildly" nauseous about affecting our election... Not to mention--why TF did he sit on this information for over 2 months???!!!

BUT if he's the tool that's going to shut down this national nightmare once and for all, then I'll sing all his praises. At least until the whole Trump Crime Organization is either fired or locked up.

[Foamfollower]

40. He does have serious credibility.

Deny it all you want, it's truth any way.

In fact, he has more credibility than most Washington professionals.

[Egnever]

42. Yup

[Egnever]

41. Nothing ridiculous about it.

What Comey did before the election was Comey being Comey. He is one of those people that does what he thinks is the right thing even if he is wrong.

Dont forget this is the same Comey who did this

In vivid testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, Comey said he alerted FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III and raced, sirens blaring, to join Ashcroft in his hospital room, arriving minutes before Gonzales and Card. Ashcroft, summoning the strength to lift his head and speak, refused to sign the papers they had brought. Gonzales and Card, who had never acknowledged Comey's presence in the room, turned and left.

The sickbed visit was the start of a dramatic showdown between the White House and the Justice Department in early 2004 that, according to Comey, was resolved only when Bush overruled Gonzales and Card. But that was not before Ashcroft, Comey, Mueller and their aides prepared a mass resignation, Comey said. The domestic spying by the National Security Agency continued for several weeks without Justice approval, he said.

"I was angry," Comey testified. "I thought I just witnessed an effort to take advantage of a very sick man, who did not have the powers of the attorney general because they had been transferred to me."

You may not like his decision but it was not done to torpedo the election. That was not his motive. Try not to forget he was also the person who said he did not recomend criminal charges against clinton.

He is a guy that wants to do the right thing regardless. Sometimes he gets it wrong.

Human right so fuck him...Nah I am with Elijah.

[StevieM]

43. There was nothing to charge her with. And I don't agree that Comey does the right thing.

I think he was incapable of telling right from wrong when a Democrat was involved.

He was able to tell right from wrong with a fellow Republican. Good for him. But it does not excuse what I regard as his illegitimate previous behavior.

[Egnever]

44. You're kidding right?

She erased purposefully thousands of emails. They may or may not have been innocuous emails but she had her people go out of their way to try to ensure that data could never be recovered.

She absolutely did send classified documents outside of channels not a ton that they found but it happened.

I don't think it would have been reasonable to charge her but it certainly could have happened and probably would have had Comeys replacement been there instead of him or any other ideological director.

[StevieM]

46. You are mistaken.

She closed down her email account, containing her personal emails. She turned over her work related emails. And she did not have her people try to make sure they were permanently erased (not that I am entirely sure that they still can't be recovered). She followed the counsel of the company that managed her server.

Colin Powell and Condi Rice also sent classified information by mistake. And when Clinton did it I believe that she was part of email chains, which means that they may have originated elsewhere. She did not knowingly do it (nor did Powell or Rice).

To charge Hillary they would have had to charge hundreds of people, including every S.O.S who had ever used email. And Rice didn't even use it regularly, so that tells you how easily it could happen. The problem was with their system, pre-dating HRC's time at State. It was not about a new problem that suddenly developed on her watch, although Comey certainly made it look that way.

[mythology]

47. There is a difference between Powell/Rice and Clinton

Neither of them were running for President in 2016 and neither of them have Clinton's history/reputation (both deserved and undeserved). Clinton already struggled with the perception that she and Bill were shady. She should have gone above and beyond to make sure everything was squeaky clean. She didn't.

Also, it's really hard to claim that she turned over all of her work emails because there is no way to verify the claim. Even if it was only accidental, it's still a problem.

I don't believe Clinton did anything illegal and nothing that hasn't been done repeatedly by others. But Republicans had spent 20 plus years trying to destroy her. She should have recognized that more than she did. Without the email server, there is no Comey announcement.

Are different standards for different people fair? Not always, but they are a reality of the world.

[StevieM]

48. Actually, I don't agree. I think they were always going to find a reason to place her

"under FBI investigation."

They could still have found a reason to say that they were looking into her handling of classified information. And Comey did say that he launched the case in response to "a public referral." Meaning Jason Chaffetz asked him to.

And if there was no email server they would have doubled down on their dishonest attacks on the Clinton Foundation. They would have done them earlier and given them more emphasis.

And, yes, I do think Comey would have honored "a public referral" if Chaffetz had given him a nominal reason, and if it emanated from a Congressional investigation of some sort. He didn't do it based on a ridiculous right-wing book, but he might very well have done it if it was cloaked in a veneer of respectability.

[Egnever]

56. Sorry that is just not true.

She closed down the server she used for the vast majority of all her correspondence not just her personal emails.

A report issued by the State Department’s independent inspector general in May said Clinton used “a personal email system to conduct business” while she was a U.S. senator and during her 2008 presidential campaign. (She was a senator from New York from January 2001 to January 2009, when President Obama nominated her to be secretary of state.) “She continued to use personal email throughout her term as Secretary, relying on an account maintained on a private server, predominantly through mobile devices. Throughout Secretary Clinton’s tenure, the server was located in her New York residence,” the IG report said.

And while you certainly can't prove that Clinton asked it to be permanently nuked through thorough disk erasure that is what happened.

The charges would not have come through the use of the private email but the sending of classified information which did happen. In Powells case Bush had given him the power to classify or declassify at will(ludicrous I know) but it would have shielded Powell from the same charges.

Regardless I am not saying she should have been charged(I think Comey made the right call) I am saying she certainly could have been and likely would have been had someone with an ideological bent been at the head of the FBI instead of Comey.

[StevieM]

59. She turned over her work-related emails.

She deleted her personal emails.

And my point is that a lot of people mistakenly sent classified information. (And I don't believe Powell had the right to declassify info that was classified by other agencies).

In HRC's case I believe the emails in question were part of email chains that originated with other people.

Most importantly, she did not know they were classified, otherwise she obviously would not have sent them.

[Egnever]

61. Oh good lord

No she didn't. She turned over most of them. The ones her lawyers deemed to be work related.

However, Comey said Clinton had multiple servers during her four years as secretary of state, and not all of her work-related emails were turned over to the State Department. The FBI recovered “several thousand work-related emails” that were not provided to the State Department, and he said it was possible they included some of the emails “deleted as ‘personal’ by her lawyers when they reviewed and sorted her emails for production in late 2014.”

Look again I don't think she should have been charged but she could have been. The way she handled it was less than forthcoming. Something she should have known was not going to fly with the republican hatred for her.

The story you are trying to advance that she did everything open and honestly is just not true.

Had she been more forthcoming from the beginning Comey may not have ever been in the position he was when he made that stupid announcement.

[StevieM]

63. Your quote contradicts your point.

Her lawyers sorted her emails and decided which ones they felt should be turned over. So obviously she couldn't have been trying to hide anything since she wasn't even making the decisions as to what should or shouldn't be turned over.

If her lawyers mislabeled some emails then that is an error, not a potential crime.

And anyone who tore her down the way Comey did was always going to find a way to go after her.

I don't believe they could even have gotten a grand jury to indict. (Which is really saying something, given how easily grand juries indict).

[Egnever]

65. Sorry just not buying that

The fact that her lawyers were deciding what was and was not work related is a problem to begin with before they ever make the first determination.

[StevieM]

66. You think every S.O.S. goes through every single one of the emails they sent and received over

the course of four years, all by themselves?

[Tatiana]

45. I fight the urge to scream that it's his fault we don't have President Hillary Clinton!

All this could have been averted, but for Comey's reckless intervention.

Nevertheless, what's done is done and Comey is useful -- moreso now that he has been fired.

He'll want to avenge himself. And, but for his ridiculous obsession with the Clintons, he seemed to be fairly proficient at his job. People do like and respect him. Look at all these damaging leaks. Those are his agents who are responding to his call (laid out in his farewell letter).

But he still gets the side eye from me. He robbed us of a great President.

[RandySF]

52. I have no warm feelings for Comey

Just as I have no warm feelings for the gun that puts down a rabid animal.

[Raster]

53. Ouch!

Ouch! Ouch!

[Renew Deal]

55. You might want to rethink your opinion of Comey now that you have more info.

[StevieM]

57. The new info does not change my opinion. (eom)

[senegal1]

60. Unpopular opinion

But true. I have had and still do have faith specifically in Mr. Comey and in the FBI.

[Egnever]

64. I think most rational people agree with you

Comey may not make the right decision all the time but he showed himself over the years to be non partisan and only after the truth.

[adigal]

67. Comey does seem to do what he feels is correct rather than politically expedient

That is NOT to say his judgment was correct re: emails and Trump's treason. But I don't think he is bought and sold by anyone.

[senegal1]

69. Speech by Director Comey to the ADL

https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/05/08/fbi-director-james-comey-at-adl-summit-holocaust-showed-humanitys-true-capacity-for-evil-and-moral-surrender/

"MAY 8, 2017 4:52 PM 1
FBI Director James Comey at ADL Summit: Holocaust Showed Humanity’s ‘True Capacity for Evil and Moral Surrender'

"It is vital that power be “overseen and constrained,” the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) told the Anti-Defamation League on Monday at its annual national leadership conference."

"It is our duty, regardless of race, religion or ideology — it is our obligation to refuse to let darkness win,” FBI Director James Comey told the crowd at The Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC. “It is our obligation not to let evil hold the field.”

Snip
..."Comey noted, “that is the reason we require every FBI agent and every analyst in training to come to the Holocaust Museum, because we want them to learn about abuse of power on a breathtaking scale. But we want them to confront something more painful and more frightening. We want them to see humanity."

Snip

"...although the slaughter of the Holocaust was led by sick and evil people, those sick and evil leaders were joined by and followed by people who loved their families, who took soup to sick neighbors, who went to church, who gave to charity — good people.”

“Good people helped murder millions and that’s the most frightening lesson of all ..."

[phleshdef]

72. You can't judge this sort of thing using a black-and-white state of mind