James Comey: This Report Says I Was Wrong. But That's Good for the F.B.I.
Last edited Thu Jun 14, 2018, 03:12 PM - Edit history (1)
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/14/opinion/comey-c
The Department of Justices independent watchdog, the inspector general, has released a report that is critical of my decisions as F.B.I. director during the investigation of Hillary Clintons email account. The report concludes that I was wrong to announce the F.B.I.s completion of the investigation without coordinating with the attorney general and that I was wrong to inform Congress in late October that we had reopened the investigation.
In both situations, the inspector generals team concludes, I should have adhered to established norms, which they see as mandating both deference to the attorney general on the public announcement and silence about an investigation so close to an election.
I do not agree with all of the inspector generals conclusions, but I respect the work of his office and salute its professionalism. All of our leaders need to understand that accountability and transparency are essential to the functioning of our democracy, even when it involves criticism. This is how the process is supposed to work.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/14/opinion/comey-clinton-inspector-general.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region®ion=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region
Read more: New York Times
Edited to add link after text. Can't get the link to show up in the box where it belongs.
Wwcd
(6,288 posts)But, its all good now. Glad that's over. Let's all just move on now, right?
Sellout.
lark
(23,106 posts)He later realized his error (though he still won't admit it) was responsible for the election of drumpf, and he put a menace to the country in as the Manchurian President. That's when he started resisting.
olegramps
(8,200 posts)I have a problem with actually believing that it was an intentional act to hurt Clinton. Perhaps I am being naïve. But it just doesn't seem that he can be that calculating. I would like to know more from his colleges as to what transpired and how they viewed it. To my knowledge, I haven't heard any criticism from his peers in the agency.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)Last edited Thu Jun 14, 2018, 09:49 PM - Edit history (1)
apparently didnt mind unfairly hobbling her a bit. The press did the same- and her candidacy died from their one thousand small cuts.
He thought it would hurt her more (when she was president) if it came out later. But he shouldnt have been making these political calculations- nor should the press. The result was a pile on HRC, while leaving all others unvetted.
BigmanPigman
(51,611 posts)olegramps
(8,200 posts)bettyellen
(47,209 posts)concerned to be seen as hurting Trump. So yeah, there was huge bias.
mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)bettyellen
(47,209 posts)Under the law. Thats not justice.
mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)She'd already 'walked', long before. As she should have.
And I reject the argument (were you to make it) that if Comey were going to mention looking at the Weiner emails then he was obligated to mention TrumpRussia as well. These two 'investigations' were in WILDLY different phases.
Hillary's was already well-known, in the public sphere, with ZERO concern that 'tipping her there was an investigation' might have compromised the investigation itself. With Drumpf? It's a FAR different scenario.
He probably should've kept his trap shut, but that's more a matter of adhering to FBI policy than it is a matter of 'equal justice under the law'. Hillary WAS given proper justice, Comey's letter didn't change that.
I'm one of the few people here on DU that believes Comey was forced into an incredibly difficult situation, one with no 100% clear-cut 'right answer', and he arguably made a mistake in judgement ... but there's no way of knowing how his having made the OPPOSITE decision would've played out in the end.
Bottom-line, I can understand, based on what is known at this moment, why a person of integrity could've felt compelled to act in the way he did. Likewise I also understand criticizing that decision. But I don't believe there's an absolute right/wrong here with regards to what he decided either way.
Often missed in this discussion is the fact that in order to 'close' the investigation in the first place, he'd obliged the FBI to inform Congress should any addt'l evidence that may be pertinent become available. Without THAT, I'd lean a lot more towards thinking he was a bad actor, and partisan hack.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)should neve rever have happened. He allowed agents to pressure him into the announcemtes, thats totally unequal. They also denied the truth about the Russian investigation, lying to the American people. Theres no integrity or consistency in his behavior.
He caved because of threats to leak. Which is illegal.
brush
(53,791 posts)laptop in September but waited until the end of October, 11 days before the election, to spring that info onto the public.
Yeah, he purposely timed that to swing the election to trump, which is even more aggravating because he also knew he was investigating trump but said noting about that.
There should be consequences.
joshcryer
(62,276 posts)So he didn't do it naively. He miscalculated that it wouldn't hurt her enough to sink her, but it did just enough damage.
Marthe48
(16,975 posts)that bad when he also knew that there was an investigation about trump's ties to russia and that russia was trying to hack the election? He had an inside track.
Comey is a republican. He did everything to help his mother party.
Cosmocat
(14,566 posts)he cuts his teeth as a special prosecutor in Whitewater.
He has that thing that all Rs have about Clintons. Maybe he isn't a modern day mouth breathing loon, but he still has that irrational part of him that thinks they are evil personified.
olegramps
(8,200 posts)He stated that the Trump and his henchmen were under investigation and he didn't disclose this I believe that he justified that by saying he didn't want to tip them off and stymie the investigation. Isn't it basically the Trumpites would stoop to any means to win. This has been the trademark of the Republicans for a number of years and their use of dirty tricks. It didn't cease with the downfall of Nixon. I contend that the Republican Party is the greatest threat that our democracy faces and they are intent on establishing a authoritarian presidency. This comes directly for the mouth of their fascist leader Trump who stated:
BRAD REED
15 JUN 2018 AT 08:54 ET
During a surprise interview with Fox & Friends on Friday, Trump said he was impressed by the respect that Kim commanded from his people.
Hes the head of the country and hes the strong head, dont let anyone think anything different, Trump said during the interview. He speaks and his people sit up in attention. I want my people to do the same.
Kim Jong-un runs a totalitarian dictatorship in which people face imprisonment or execution if they criticize him. According to human rights watchdog Amnesty International, North Korea has imprisoned an estimated 120,000 people based on political grounds across four separate camps dedicated to imprisoning political dissidents.
Despite this, the president has praised Kim for being a very tough leader who loves the people of his country.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)Oh, wait a minute - is it political when you throw the election to your OWN party?
Oooooohhhh, I see now.
Marthe48
(16,975 posts)cheat trump into office.
Comey was just part of the cheat.
bucolic_frolic
(43,190 posts)if there ever was one.
He was sure wrong if he didn't at least consult the people within those 'norms'. I like Comey, but I'm beginning to think he was rogue here.
brush
(53,791 posts)investigation without telling the public he was also investigating trump.
He was a partisan hack who purposely tilted the election to trump.
Don't fall for the naivete/redemption act. He knew what he was doing, just as he did in July '16 with the public chastisement.
Raine1967
(11,589 posts)fleur-de-lisa
(14,627 posts)Blue_Adept
(6,399 posts)Available in the sharing section of the article
https://nyti.ms/2JL44Qk
Raine1967
(11,589 posts)pecosbob
(7,541 posts)was that elements in the NY FBI office were leaking the information anyway and he wanted to get ahead of it. Why did he not reprimand or recommend those agents for disciplinary action...why was Rudy so happly announcing their October Surprise in advance on Fox Noise? If he felt that the leaks were inevitable then action should have been taken against those federal employees from the NY FBI office that were violating Department of Justice rules. No action has been taken against these agents to date. WHY NOT?
MarcA
(2,195 posts)is a particularly nasty one.
okaawhatever
(9,462 posts)FBI NYC office and couldn't believe they didn't investigate it. He tried to get the info to the right people and apparently someone in the British gov't who knew Sen McCain told him about it and McCain sent an aide to pick it up and hand it to Comey personally. Without that all the Trump/Russia stuff probably would have been buried.
I hope when the investigation proves what a traitor Trump is the NYC FBI office will be investigated and all Trump/Guiliani enablers will be charged.
brush
(53,791 posts)last week that he found out about the allegedly "new" emails on Weiner's laptop in September '16 not late Oct.
I do not believe for one moment that he did not have that laptop examined for a whole month.
Of course he did and found the "new" were duplicates but he sat on the info and timed his release of this info on Oct. 28, '16 in order to hurt Clinton's campaign at the last minute before the election thereby tilting the election to trump.
He was in on it which is why Ghouliani bragged on TV that something was coming soon. Ghouliani knew what was about to happen. Comey, Ghouliani and the rogue NY field office agents all had long-time Hillary hate, were partisan hacks and they planned the public re-opening of the investigation as a true late October surprise and it worked.
The story that Comey was being pressured by rogue agents to move before they did was all a cover story.
mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)brush
(53,791 posts)that Ghouliani bragged something was coming on TV says volumes, as does that fact that nothing happened to those rogue agents who were said to have threatened/pressured THEIR BOSS.
mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)And records of what was officially communicated to Comey re: the laptop at the time, which the IG would presumably have found.
Thing is, once Dumpie had 'won', the opportunity for something to 'happen' to said agents was greatly diminished. Had Comey gone 'after' them, immediately after the Dump 'win', it would've been widely portrayed as a hostile political act by Obama, 'jealous' that Hillary didn't win.
On top of that, do we know for a fact that these NY agents violated official policies outright in some/anything that they did? I'm not sure that we do, but I'm all ears if it can be proven otherwise.
Given how castigating the report is towards the Comey decision to inform Congress at the time he did, why would it NOT also address the fact that he knew about the laptop contents long before and then waited til late Oct. 2016 to send the letter to Congress ... if he in fact had?
Lastly, it's one thing to know the FBI Field office has Weiner's laptop ... and another thing to know what's in it. Weiner's lappie would've logically been in custody due to a totally unrelated-to-the-election matter at the time, as you may recall.
brush
(53,791 posts)And then honestly recorded it despite their being rogue agents?
brush
(53,791 posts)Snellius
(6,881 posts)Comey should question his moral ambiguity by looking back at the rationalizations at Nuremberg - the "decent ones" too self-righteous to admit their banality of evil.
dalton99a
(81,516 posts)100% complete and total. He knew exactly what he was doing and threw it to cheeto. That he later got shitcanned by the guy he made president makes no difference whatsoevery. Maybe he should have thought about that before he played politics. Incidentally his former agency plays politics all the f#cking time and rarely if ever has gotten called on it.
noncliqer
(50 posts)You're either a traitor or a dolt.
exboyfil
(17,863 posts)I would be very interested in hearing Mueller's take on how Comey behaved. He is in an unique position to make such an evaluation. He was in that job previously, and he probably knows more about what happened than any other individual in the country. Perhaps for the good of the country he could also address the obvious bias in our chief law enforcement organization.
Then again he is a Republican so I am not sure he would be capable of the self examination necessary to answer those questions.
JNelson6563
(28,151 posts)I hope I never hear this guy's name again. Ugh!
flibbitygiblets
(7,220 posts)That you'd have the nerve to ever show your face in public again, after the shitstorm of horrendousness you unleased on the world, says everything we ever suspected about you.
Your getting fired by Tronald Dump is the only redeeming factor in this sordid, woeful story, and only because it may actually lead to his downfall. History will not be kind to you.