FBI Director James Comey Tried To Reveal Russian Tampering Months Before Election

[L. Coyote]

Source: Newsweek

FBI Director James Comey attempted to go public as early as the summer of 2016 with information on Russia’s campaign to influence the U.S. presidential election, but Obama administration officials blocked him from doing so, two sources with knowledge of the matter tell Newsweek.

Well before the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence accused the Russian government of tampering with the U.S. election in an October 7 statement, Comey pitched the idea of writing an op-ed about the Russian campaign during a meeting in the White House’s situation room in June or July.

“He had a draft of it or an outline. He held up a piece of paper in a meeting and said, ‘I want to go forward, what do people think of this?’” says a source with knowledge of the meeting , which included Secretary of State John Kerry, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, the Department of Homeland Security’s director and the national security adviser.

Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/fbi-director-james-comey-russian-tampering-election-576417

---

We've been waiting for a while:

GIGANTIC story coming #TrumpRussia within the next hour. Yuge. Bigly.

[MichMan]

1. Was everyone in on it?

Does that mean that those that stopped Comey from reporting before the election can be charged with treason for influencing the election as well?

[H2O Man]

2. silly

[HoneyBadger]

3. Are you saying to charge Obama, Kerry and Lynch with treason????

And have Comey testify against them? Because that would be odd.

[LisaM]

10. It just said that Lynch and Kerry were at the meeting (if I'm reading it correctly)

not that they were involved in the decision, which sounds as if it came from the White House.

[DK504]

70. The lest's not make any waves

'cause that would make everyone hate the black man more.

I love President Obama, I really do, his efforts to play bi-partisanship was bust and it went bust the night of his inauguration. After his first 5 minutes in office he needed to stop playing kissing face, they were never going to do what is/was right.

[lapucelle]

76. Here's what the story says about the White House:

White House officials thought the announcement should be a coordinated message backed by multiple agencies, the source says. “An op-ed doesn’t have the same stature, it comes from one person.”

[L. Coyote]

4. OFCS. Abiding by the rules and norms isn't Russian collusion.

Talk about turning things on their head, that's practically Nunesian

[karynnj]

8. The article does not say who stopped him -- it says that the WH wanted a multi-agency statement

This is a curious article that seems to throw the blame on Obama - the only one who really could have stopped Comey. Not to mention, there WERE Obama administartion statements that Russia was involved in the hacking etc. So, they did speak out -- and it did not make much of a difference.

Note that there was no intent to say that the FBI was investigating Trump - even in Comey's proposed op-ed.

[brush]

85. That meeting is not news for those of us who followed the campaign

All of the top repugs and Dems were there.

Obama wanted full disclosure from Comey and other agency heads but McConnell threaten Obama that if it was disclosed he would publicly blame the Obama admin with trying to swing the election to Hillary, and at the time Hillary was widely viewed as the likely winner so the Dems didn't pursue it.

[elleng]

13. That would have been the Obama administration,

it appears.

[karynnj]

26. However, they DID put out a statement that spoke that the 17 agencies all determined Russia was

behind the hack. Why would an FBI oped have more weight than that.

(I was meaning that they seemed to imply it was Obama --- and they neglect to say that the multi agengy response actually happened. HRC even spoke of it in at least one debate.) This is designed to take blame from Comey and give it to Obama.

[virtualobserver]

58. that did not happen until OCT 7th

Before the Republican convention would have been MUCH better.

[mpcamb]

68. This is so long after it would have mattered, it seems like an ass-covering move.

Last edited Thu Mar 30, 2017, 07:43 PM - Edit history (1)

Hey, pal, the horse is long outta the barn. Was your hand so badly injured you couldn't use the phone to tell the public what was up???

[karynnj]

72. It was a month before the election

Not to mention, they had brought the issue up with Russia. What do you think would have happened in July? I think it would have stepped on the Democratic convention. It also might have hurt HRC and helped Trump. Why? It may have looked as though the Democrats were weak in defending the US.

[HoneyBadger]

81. Oct 19th debate

We have 17 -- 17 intelligence agencies, civilian and military, who have all concluded that these espionage attacks, these cyberattacks, come from the highest levels of the Kremlin and they are designed to influence our election. I find that deeply disturbing.-Hillary

[karynnj]

84. Thanks for getting that quote into this thread

I also think that it is not clear whether putting a big announcement out in July would have helped or hurt. The Republicans would have tried to spin it as Democrats being weak and unable to stop the Russians. The risk when she was far ahead might have been too great.

By October, you had the Podesta stuff. At that point, it might have been needed. Not to mention, the announcement was AFTER Manafort left because of his Russian ties.

I

[HoneyBadger]

86. Early October, just before early voting, is October surprise time

Conventional wisdom says that it is the best time. It is also is about (October 10) when Ryan put the nail into the coffin of Trump's campaign. There was a lot happening.



NYT
OCTOBER 10, 2016
The House speaker, Paul D. Ryan, dealt a hammer blow to Donald J. Trump’s presidential candidacy on Monday, dashing any remaining semblance of Republican unity and inviting fierce backlash from his own caucus by announcing that he would no longer defend Mr. Trump....

[bettyellen]

45. LOL

[JTFrog]

5. But he had no fucking problem lying about a bullshit investigation into more emails?

Come the fuck on.

This is incredibly frustrating.

[Still Blue in PDX]

9. Exactly my thought. Unfuckingbelievable. nt

[L. Coyote]

11. He sent a letter to Repubs in Congress who leaked it forthwith. Blame the damn #RepubliRussians

Current investigation into Comey by DoJ

Link to tweet

[JTFrog]

18. I am going to continue to lay the blame squarely at his feet.

I don't care how many try to excuse it. He irreversibly fucked the election.

[Cosmocat]

71. Yep

nm

[yallerdawg]

77. That's right.

Comey didn't listen to anyone when it came to Hillary, including tradition and acknowledged precedent around an election.

But no problem when it came to "the guy" with the R.

[MelissaB]

17. I thought he was forced to do that??

[JTFrog]

21. He ignored his boss (Lynch) and broke FBI rules to make that announcement. nt

[MelissaB]

27. Yes, but didn't Giuliani have someting to do with forcing his hand?

[jalan48]

29. My understanding is that Lynch could have stopped him but didn't-she never said don't do it.

[MelissaB]

31. I thought Guiliani was going to go public if the FBI didn't with the emails

thereby forcing Comey to go public.

This isn't the article I was looking for, but here is a snip.

A week earlier -- before Comey's disclosure to Congress -- he told Fox News there was a "pretty big surprise" coming, though he did not provide further details. He told Blitzer the surprise was an upcoming advertising campaign: "I knew that was going to come as a big surprise."

Giuliani insisted to Blitzer that he did not receive a tip from someone currently in the FBI.
"In my case, it's real simple: I've talked to no FBI agent, I've talked to no Justice Department official. I have no idea about who's leaking information."

The former mayor added that everyone he does talk to in the FBI is a former agent.

Blitzer reminded Giuliani that in an October 28 interview on "The Lars Larson Show," the former mayor said he was in contact with former agents "and a few active agents, who obviously don't want to identify themselves."

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/04/politics/rudy-giuliani-hillary-clinton-email-fbi/

What I remember reading somewhere is that pro Trump people leaked to Guiliani and Guiliani was going to use the info to force Comey to go public with the emails.

[JTFrog]

32. She told him not to break policy.

How FBI Director Comey Ignored His Boss and Broke DOJ Rules to Announce Clinton Email Investigation
The nation's top law enforcement officer puts himself above the law.

By Steven Rosenfeld / AlterNet October 29, 2016

FBI director James Comey was told by top Justice Department officials not to make any public statement about renewing the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server, because it violated DOJ policy on commenting on ongoing investigations, various national news outlets reported Saturday.

“Director Comey understood our position. He heard it from Justice leadership,” the Washington Post's source said. “It was conveyed to the FBI, and Comey made an independent decision to alert the Hill. He is operating independently of the Justice Department. And he knows it.”

Attorney General Loretta Lynch told Comey not to break DOJ policy—laid out in federal prosecutor guidelines—of not commenting on open investigations or making any statement potentially influencing election outcomes, the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer reported, also citing DOJ sources.

"Lynch expressed her preference that Comey follow the department’s longstanding practice of not commenting on ongoing investigations, and not taking any action that could influence the outcome of an election," Mayer wrote. “The F.B.I. director is an employee of the Justice Department, and is covered by its policies."

[jalan48]

38. According to the Washington Post she chose not to stop Comey.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/the-attorney-general-could-have-ordered-fbi-director-james-comey-not-to-send-his-bombshell-letter-on-clinton-emails-heres-why-she-didnt/2016/12/21/7824d00a-c5fd-11e6-85b5-76616a33048d_story.html?utm_term=.acc18f29cf44

[JTFrog]

43. She may not have directly ordered him, but it's clear that he was told not to and that he went

rogue.

[jalan48]

44. Coupled with this latest news it's odd the way it played out.

[tblue37]

80. "Expressed her preference" is pretty weak sauce, IMO. nt

[tblue37]

79. She was too timid to stop him because she felt Bill Clinton's ill-advised visit to

her plane on the tarmac had compromised her by throwing her impartiality into question.

[Jonny Appleseed]

6. "Going high" didn't work

Love you Obama, but not all of us know Richard Branson.

[karynnj]

16. Obama did go high, but the article ignores that the Obama administration DID

speak of 17 Intelligence agencies all in agreement that the Russians hacked the DNC and Podesta. That was referenced by HRC in at least one debate. Note THAT was the information that the Comey wanted to put out as the FBI director.

Note that this article says they felt it would mean more coming from more agencies. Do you think more people would have read a Comey NYT oped, than read of the 17 agencies agreeing that Russia hacked us?

This says that Comey would not have spoken of Trump being investigated. To me, this is just Comey angry that he looks like the one who gave us Trump. He did -- not by not fighting to have an FBI oped rather than a statement from the 17 agencies -- but by announcing they potentially had found more HRC emails.

[maxsolomon]

7. Dems: Country/Party

Republicks: Party/Country

[NewRedDawn]

12. Putin Publicans

Party/other countries that help them keep power.

[L. Coyote]

30. #RepubliRussians

Link to tweet

[elmac]

19. Republicks: Party/money or vise versa nt

[mrsv]

14. I'm not...

Going to get distracted...I'm focusing on the now...don't let them change the conversation...staying focused on trump/russia

[L. Coyote]

25. This bombs Trump's cyber-lynching of Obama.

I like that aspect of the story, much more difficult now to create fake news that Obama was playing politics and spied for political purposes.

Link to tweet

[frazzled]

15. An op-ed ... really?

In the middle of an investigation in which they were trying to find out more? Why not a big-ass press conference, like the one he held to "clear" Hillary Clinton even as he inappropriately castigated her? Is an op-ed, from the FBI director, no less, the normal way to deal with interference from a foreign power?

I can see why the idea wasn't well received. My guess is he wanted to do it for some plausible deniability at a later time. But it sounds entirely nonconventional to me.

[bronxiteforever]

20. +1000

When does the FBI Director do op eds on ongoing investigations? This is so weird. Was he going to say the Russians wanted 45 to win over Clinton?

[karynnj]

22. Not to mention - remember that there WAS a statement that 17 IC agencies agreed Russia was

behind the hack. Clinton referenced it in at least one debate. Note that - even in this story - the oped was on Russia's interference - not anything that Trump did. Had there been a Comey NYT oped, it is hard to imagine it having more power than the statement that was released.

I suspect that this is someone wanting to take blame from Comey. However, his problem was not this, but the fact that he made the announcement that they found more HRC emails.

[GreydeeThos]

36. An Op-ED? My thoughts exactly.

This sounds like a Karl Rove setup to discredit the Obama Administration. Imagine the alt-right news reporting about the FBI director publishing an opinion based Op-Ed on an ongoing investigation during an election campaign. Maybe Comey himself was trying to slip this in to further throw support to Trump.

Comey is a big question mark, and he does not seem to favor our side.

[Maeve]

41. That was my first thought as well--an OP-ED piece???????

THAT is how you handle a foreign government messing with your political system????

[jalan48]

23. What's the relationship between the Clintons and the Obamas? Friends?

[karynnj]

46. Obama clearly showed preference for HRC over Biden starting in 2013

He and Michelle campaigned FAR more for HRC at the end than has happened with any President for his potential successor in history.

This is ALL smoke. The story is COMEY wanted to write an OPED saying that Russia was behind the hacking ... the WH wanted a statement backed by many agencies - giving it more weight. Such a statement came out. (Remember HRC referencing that all 17 intelligence agencies found Russia was behind it.)

Of course the article leaves out that a statement was made by the Obama administration. This is all Comey trying to shift blame -- ignoring that the blame was about how he handled the email investigation.

[jalan48]

49. More than for Biden? I thought he and Biden were really tight.

[karynnj]

52. As early as 2013, he was praising HRC profusely using words like "best" nt

[jalan48]

54. He also appointed Clinton's former campaign chair, DWS, to head the DNC in 2011 as well so I think

you are correct that he was supporting Clinton early on.

[OKNancy]

24. Pisses me off that the Obama White House stopped this

But the source with knowledge of Comey’s request says that the FBI director wanted the Russian interference made public earlier and that it was a sluggish White House that denied Comey and delayed the announcement. “The White House shut it down,” that source says. “They did their usual—nothing.” Both sources spoke to Newsweek on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to the press.

I feel so bad for Hillary. I feel bad for the country too and I feel bad for myself. Damn it.

ETA: I know they probably did this so as not to be biased, but still........... grrrrr

[karynnj]

34. You watched the debates -- remember HRC referencing that 17 US intelligence agencies said that

Russia was responsible for hacking the DNC and Podesta? I would guess that that was the multi agency statement that was put out. There was tons of news stories that spoke of fancybear and Russia hacking. Remember Clinton calling Trump a "puppet"?

Blame a bored, highly polarized population.

This Newsweek article is likely coming from Comey and it intends to take blame off of him -- and put it on Obama and his national security team. Note even here they are NOT saying that Comey wanted to say that Trump or people in his campaign were under investigation on this.

[HoneyBadger]

83. I just went to Her Opponent tonite

It is the play that recreates the debates with gender switching. One portion of the debates that was covered was the "17" comment.

If you had to rate the theatre audience it terms of pro Hillary sentiment, from 1-10, it was about a 10, with a few at infinity. They mentioned having a hard time finding less educated Trump voters to come (The play is actually supposed to be a performance based study, not a comedy or satire). They did a q&a afterwards. A lot and I mean a lot, of audience members, said afterwards that Trump was far better at connecting, that Hillary's messaging just was too long winded, complex and forgettable.

My sense is that what Hillary said was lost. Including the "17" comment. There were a lot more negative comments, and it was definitely not just anti Hillary, there was anti Trump, anti white, anti everything, but I will leave that to the inevitable reviews.

[Skittles]

63. so Obama didn't hold Bush INC accountable

and helped trash Hillary's chances

no guts at all

[TalenaGor]

28. Didnt we already know this?

that he brought it to quite a few people and the republicans threatened Obama that they would make it look like HE was trying to sway the election in Hillarys favor? so he could not take action?

or am I confused here?

[L. Coyote]

35. There were hindsight discussions after the election.

When things came to light before the election, the FISA story, there was no discussion of Obama suppressing knowledge, at that point there was incredulity about the story of a warrant and a lot of push back from trolls. DU was even hacked and shut down a few hours after the story started to go viral on election day.

[karynnj]

37. The point is that it is not true they did nothing - remember the statement that 17 agencies said

Russia was behind the hacking and gave stuff to wikileaks?

[TalenaGor]

40. ya and plus - sanctions right?

[karynnj]

47. I think the sanctions were after the election -- but yes, that too nt

[TalenaGor]

48. im gonna need a spreadsheet soon lol

this is just all so..deeply woven...

[FakeNoose]

50. Yes this story was posted on Gawker before the election (last fall)

I wasn't a regular on DU then, but I read Gawker News almost every day during the fall.
This story was definitely making the rounds but people didn't know what to make of it.

NOBODY connected Trump and his campaign managers to the Russian hackers yet.
Those connections weren't discovered until after the election was over.

I believe Obama left office already knowing a lot of stuff that we're just learning now.
Sally Yates definitely told Obama a lot of stuff during his "lame duck" period.

[L. Coyote]

53. It was posted on DU, and the reaction was a push back against Mensch.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12512604434

Back then, no one seemed willing to accept that trump was involved in the hacking, Occam's Razor be damned.

[karynnj]

56. Reread the article -- Comey spoke of saying Russia interfered, not that Trump was involved

From the article:
The op-ed would not have mentioned whether the FBI was investigating Donald Trump’s campaign workers or others close to him for links to the Russians’ interference in the election, a second source with knowledge of the request tells Newsweek.


The possible Comey oped would have said no more than the statement that spoke of the US intelligence agencies' conclusion that Russia did the hacking. It is hard to argue that Comey's oped would have been given greater weight.

[L. Coyote]

57. The collusion issue has moved forward since then, obviously.

But, many of us were well aware of it back then, and the inference would have been there for those understanding the implications.

Link to tweet

[karynnj]

61. I quite agree

With Manaford having to leave the campaign, Trump's praise of Putin, and several times where Trump allies seemed to know what was "coming" on wikileaks were clues that there COULD be something there. Pretty suscpicious, but not "proof".

My point was that - even had an investigation commenced, which I assume it did for all the reasons given - that was NOT what this Comey oped was intended to be about.

[FakeNoose]

60. (Sigh)

I was answering another person - TalenaGor - who asked, did't we already know this?
No need for you to jump in and tell me to reread the article.
But thanks for your concern.

[karynnj]

62. (sigh)

On a message board, conversations are often between many - not just the person you responded to.

PS My response was to a person responding to you -- not you.

[TalenaGor]

33. but it will be funny to watch them blame obama for something they deny is true in the 1st place

[L. Coyote]

39. Trump will still want to cyber-lynch Obama, no doubt, instead of thanking him, because

Trump knows he has been caught red-handed (pun intended) and he needs to make the evidence go away as politically motivated spying.

[Turbineguy]

42. OK. If we think in terms of multi-dimensional chess,

it might make sense.

After all. If the Obama Administration had allowed it to be revealed (beyond the amount that was) the repubs would have gone nuclear. Remember, to them, when they steal an election it's OK. When others steal an election, it's a problem.

Obama took a chance. He bet on the good sense of the American voter. He lost that bet. He warned people that Trump had no business being President, that he was unfit. Well, we know the answer to that.

Trump is now naked and having to cover up his actions. If Hillary Clinton had won we would be in the same mess we are now anyway because the repubs would have blocked everything. Everything would have continued to fester under wraps.

By putting themselves in charge, the republicans have screwed themselves. They are exposed as incompetent, incapable of governing and possibly guilty of treason.

However, I am optimistic that this will work out.

[karynnj]

51. We knew Manaford and I think others had Putin connections - in fact that is why

he was forced out of heading the campaign.

On Russia hacking etc -- the article says that Comey wanted to write an oped on that and teh WH wanted a multiagency statement that they thought would have more weight. A statement was put out -- and there were comments on Russia being behind it even in the debates.

the ONLY thing that was not said was that Trump himself could have been involved. (On that, there were plenty of people here and elsewhere putting together the closeness of Trump people to Putin, Trump's very positive praise of Putin, and the government claim that Russia was behind the hacking.)

I don't know what the reaction would have been had Obama, Comey, Lynch etc made a statement that there was an investigation of what Trump knew of Russia's actions. It could have backfired given the polarization in the country.

[L. Coyote]

55. More news: Comey was concerned publicly blaming Russia for hacks of Democrats could appear political

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[roamer65]

59. This is why we need an independent investigator.

We need to know the truth. All of it.

[L. Coyote]

65. Watch the Senate hearings begin tomorrow:

Last edited Wed Mar 29, 2017, 08:43 PM - Edit history (1)

Thu Mar 30, 2017 9:20AM EDT - C-SPAN 3 -- Russian Election Interference

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

C_SPAN Russian Election Interference The Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Intelligence Committee held their first news conference

FULL VIDEO - 37:32:

[llmart]

64. I smell desperation...

They're pulling everything out of the hat right now because the heat is on. I'll bet there are a lot of sleepless nights in that administration. Not dump though because he doesn't care.

[TalenaGor]

66. btw...where are those 16 other IC agencies at?

Why are they silent in all this? I'm unclear on this...

[L. Coyote]

67. Steele debriefed FBI in October

Trump Russia dossier key claim 'verified'
By Paul Wood BBC News, Washington 1 hour ago

So far, no single piece of evidence has been made public proving that the Trump campaign joined with Russia to steal the US presidency ... FBI Director, James Comey, told a hushed committee room in Congress last week that this is precisely what his agents are investigating ....

Steele's "dossier", .... one point he wrote: "A leading Russian diplomat, Mikhail KULAGIN, had been withdrawn from Washington at short notice because Moscow feared his heavy involvement in the US presidential election operation… would be exposed in the media there."......

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Kalugin was head of the embassy's economics section. ....

Long read.

[DeminPennswoods]

69. Obama made a mistake no doubt about it

Instead of worrying about who might be helped or hurt, Obama should have come down on the side of the country. He was the President. His duty was to inform the citizens of the United States that a foreign power was attempting to influence and/or interfere in national elections. He could have requested time on all networks for a national address to lay out all the facts. He should not have worried about what some political commentors would think.

[LisaM]

82. I agree with you.

At times he seems distanced from the Democratic party. I have often thought that.

[Justice]

73. This article really smells like someone is trying to rewrite history

Sounds like this Russia/Trump story is big and someone wants to rehab image as white knight because he is responsible for throwing the election to Trump.

First, serious question - has Comey ever done an op-ed before?

Second, No mention of Obama's efforts to get bi-partisan statement and McConnell's refusal to do so because he was not convinced.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/12/10/mitch_mcconnell_prevented_stronger_action_against_russian_election_meddling.html

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

74. Well, that worked

out well. We can take the fucking high road all the way up to fascism.

[L. Coyote]

75. Who is ready for the Senate hearings to begin in the morning?

C-SPAN 3
9:22am Russian Election Interference
10:00am Russian Intelligence Activities
2:00pm Russian Intelligence Activities

[tavernier]

78. Fire Comey.

He is as involved as the rest, maybe more.
Rotten apple at the bottom of the barrel.

[L. Coyote]

89. That's what all the wingnuts on Twitter are telling Trump.

They want Trey Gowdy to replace him. Think about that before you scream too loud for his head.

[tavernier]

91. Not now. After Trump and Co. are in prison.

I'm a cockeyed optimist.

[Doodley]

87. Nobody believed Trump would win and they didn't want Hillary's win to look like it was fixed

by claims of a Russian conspiracy that might not be possible to prove.

[L. Coyote]

88. Watch: FBI Director James Comey on 'the FBI's role in the intelligence community'

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/29/watch-fbi-director-james-comey-on-the-fbis-role-in-the-intelligence-community.html

I missed this event. Can anyone find the video posted somewhere?

[joshcryer]

90. Remember when Loretta Lynch was slammed for being in the pocket of the Clinton's?

Yet here we are, with the Obama administration going out of its way not to influence things, doing nothing, because Obama is so fucking good.

If the Republicans had this info they'd have leaked it through a dozen news outlets and forced Comey to make a statement.

[UCmeNdc]

92. I think the Obama administration was too afraid to really push the issue since it would look like

they were trying to win by any means. Especially since the GOP would not back them publicly and say there is Russian influence involved.

[UCmeNdc]

93. There has to be a Special prosecutor with subpoena powers appointed to investigate Trump's

administration Russian Spy contacts.

[hamsterjill]

94. I must be severely dense.

This makes no rational sense to me. If Obama knew about the Russian involvement, why wouldn't he do something?

Did Comey release the email info about Hillary as payback for not being allowed to write an op-ed? I'm sorry, but I just don't see this happening.

Can someone enlighten me in simple terms?