Mueller Has Early Draft of Trump Letter Giving Reasons for Firing Comey

[ehrnst]

Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON — The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has obtained a letter that President Trump and a top political aide drafted in the days before Mr. Trump fired the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, which explains the president’s rationale for why he planned to dismiss the director.

The May letter had been met with opposition from Donald F. McGahn II, the White House counsel, who believed that some of its contents were problematic, according to interviews with a dozen administration officials and others briefed on the matter.

Mr. McGahn successfully blocked the president from sending Mr. Comey the letter, which Mr. Trump had composed with Stephen Miller, one of the president’s top political advisers. A different letter, written by the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, and focused on Mr. Comey’s handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server, was ultimately sent to the F.B.I. director on the day he was fired.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/01/us/politics/trump-comey-firing-letter.html

[Bleacher Creature]

1. Wowzers!!

So there's basically a letter of him admitting to obstructing justice. In writing.

This seems like the kind of thing prosecutors can only dream about.

[DeminPennswoods]

17. A 2fer to boot!

With the odious Stephen Miller involved!

[BigmanPigman]

18. Miller's name is a red flag. If he had a hand in it you know it is pure evil.

When I read this I thought, "When will he be fired/resign?". Bannon and Gorka are gone so maybe if this gets out and his name is attached to it there will be pressure for him to hit the road.

[DeminPennswoods]

20. Miller is Sessions' long time aide

doubtful he'd leave what with Sessions in the administration.

[BigmanPigman]

23. I didn't know that. I am more confused now.

I can't keep track of the "loyalties" and backgrounds of these players. It is exhausting. They are all corrupt, have their own evil, sociopathic agendas and relationships. It is a twisted web of deception. Poor, poor Mueller and his team. They know how important their job is but the network of actors is so deep and complicated they need to be thorough yet timely (to save the country).

[spiderpig]

24. Oh, Pigman (are we related, by the way?)

I have to rely on Lawrence, Rachel, Chris Hayes, Joy Reid, and even Brian Williams to explain it all to me.

I can only hope and believe that Mueller, like Mr. pig, is a bull-headed son-of-a-gun who will not be threatened or distracted by shiny objects.

Trump is a vile piece of work. I would never want to work for him. I would never want to live in the same neighborhood. Hell, I'm ashamed to share the same planet.

Here's hoping Mueller rescues us from this psychotic and his cabal.

[janx]

25. Don't feel sorry for Mueller and his team.

Researching and keeping track of these things is what they do! And no one is better at it.

[OnDoutside]

3. How did he obtain it ?

[ehrnst]

4. Somebody kept it as leverage for when it all came crashing down? (Nt)

[OnDoutside]

5. Had to be someone in a small circle though ? McGahn himself ?

[JenniferJuniper]

7. Almost certainly. Attorneys in

particular know how to cover their own asses.

[Qutzupalotl]

8. Justice Department turned it over. n/t

[ehrnst]

9. Curious as to who kept it. (nt)

[Princess Turandot]

13. It was most likely sitting on a computer network...

probably the White House counsel's, as drafts/versions/revisions of documents tend to be kept in the usual course of business. Or it may have been attached to an email sent via the White House system to various people for review. (The appointment of the Special Counsel didn't happen until weeks after Comey was fired. So, they likely weren't worried about the text of the draft in question.)

Once Mueller was made aware of its existence, they pretty much had to give him a copy.

[riversedge]

14. The DOJ turned over a copy but it was Stephen Miller who drafted the letter. I am curious as

to why Justice had a copy???



....The Justice Department turned over a copy of the letter to Mr. Mueller in recent weeks.

Ty Cobb, a White House lawyer, declined to discuss the letter or its contents. “To the extent the special prosecutor is interested in these matters, we will be fully transparent with him,’’ he said.

Mr. Miller drafted the letter at the urging of Mr. Trump during a weekend in May, when Mr. Trump and his team were at the president’s private golf club in Bedminster, N.J. During that same weekend, as Mr. Trump and a small group of aides were in Bedminster devising a rationale for Mr. Comey’s dismissal, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Mr. Rosenstein were working on a parallel effort to fire Mr. Comey.
...................

[tinrobot]

12. Probably Rosenstein.

Since he wrote the second letter, he probably had a copy of the first...

...and I'm sure he has no qualms about working with Mueller.

[jrthin]

6. And his the turd's lawyers allowed this? Good grief. nt

[bucolic_frolic]

10. MultiLayer Cake

The coverup of the motivations behind the obstruction

Juicy!

[janx]

11. YEP

"Mr. McGahn successfully blocked the president from sending Mr. Comey the letter, which Mr. Trump had composed with Stephen Miller, one of the president’s top political advisers. A different letter, written by the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, and focused on Mr. Comey’s handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server, was ultimately sent to the F.B.I. director on the day he was fired."

[Sanity Claws]

15. So many lines to read between

Did Trump instruct Rosenstein to write a letter after McGahn blocked the original letter? If so, it looks like the Rosenstein letter was pure pretext.

[janx]

16. Or McGahn suggested that a letter be drafted by the Justice Dept.

We can only imagine what a letter drafted by Trump and Miller contained...

[MontanaMama]

19. How did Mueller "obtain"

the letter? I read the article...did I miss that?

[DeminPennswoods]

21. the number of sources on these stories

is pretty mindboggling.

[janx]

22. It makes me laugh...

Last edited Fri Sep 1, 2017, 04:31 PM - Edit history (1)

every time!

Edited to add: Anything leaked from that investigation is leaked intentionally. A harmless crumb tossed at the media once in awhile.

[Sunlei]

26. remember that huge stack of papers/files trump had on TV in 5th street tower as "business files"?

bet those papers weren't simply business files.

and no one has seen those papers, Not Muellers crew or anyone.

[Madam45for2923]

27. This lawyer here tweets explaining a lot about this: https://twitter.com/renato_mariotti

https://twitter.com/renato_mariotti

Link to tweet

[Blue_Roses]

34. I guess I need to start "twittering"...

[SethH]

28. he already admitted to Lester Holt it was about Russia

he already confessed to obstructing justice.

I suppose this is stronger evidence but I'd like it explained how his admission in a national TV interview somehow isn't enough evidence.

[janx]

29. Washington Post:

-snip-

Which brings us to that letter. According to The Post reporters, who were briefed on its contents, it doesn't dwell on Russia, but it does express concern Comey wouldn't say publicly Trump himself wasn't under investigation.

The letter was drafted with top White House adviser Stephen Miller, a former Senate aide to now-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Miller has been among the most controversial and ideologically extreme members of the White House staff, and it's tempting to believe he wouldn't rein in Trump's impulses in the drafting of the letter.

We also know the letter was multiple pages — suggesting plenty to pick apart — and aides cautioned Trump against at least some of its contents. The Times reports White House counsel Don McGahn believed the letter was “problematic.”

-snip-



https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/09/01/bob-mueller-has-trumps-letter-explaining-why-he-fired-james-comey-heres-why-thats-big/?tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.a6e99fba2f35

[mucifer]

30. I want the proof of collusion. Obstruction of justice isn't enough.

I hope Mueller can do both and throw in some financial evil illegal stuff to boot.

Call me greedy.

[Matthew28]

32. I doubt even then

The gop will vote to impeach. They're evil.

[Whiskeytide]

31. So... Feldmarschall Von Miller vas allowet to draft a letter...

... firingk za head uf za FBI?

Hmm. Veddy interstingk. But stoopid!



You think maybe there's some off the rails, bat shit crazy in those pages?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

33. Drip drip

[Hieronymus]

35. Mueller is tough ..

Tic Tic Tic.