Well, that’s one way to take #TrumpRussia to eleven.
About The Author
BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
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Recent Comments
So far the news:
He was fired for usurping the powers of the Attorney General (Loretta Lynch) in closing the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s emails.
Which raises these interesting questions:
right?
Andrew McCabe is now the Acting FBI Director.
Wow! Particularly ironic is that the Trump administration is blaming his handling of the Clinton investigation. Obviously that’s bullshit. I’m sure we’ll eventually find out what this is about. But it’s oddly ironic and deserving and karmic that Comey gets hoisted upon his own petard.
transparent it’s embarrassing.
Two words: Archibald. Cox.
Wonder how his is trending on google.
Not at all. The Cox appointment as Special Prosecutor with a single mission had bi-partisan support in the Senate and was a condition for confirming AG Elliot Richardson. When so ordered, Richardson resigned rather than fire Cox.
Who on the Hill supports Comey?
Words fail this ex-prosecutor. The rule of law is impossible without trust in the institutions that enforce it. Great damage is being done to the long term viability of democracy.
I think back to Cox, my con law professor. He suspected all along there was some evidence that was being hid that would be dispositive.
And I wonder, what is being hid here? What secret is worth firing the FBI director over?
I have not a clue. But this is war.
So, in your opinion no previous FBI Director should have been fired because that would have depreciated public trust in the institution? J Edgar Hoover served the viability of democracy in this country?
I wouldn’t have hired or supported Comey for the job in the first place but haven’t formed an opinion on whether or not he should be fired. However, no FBI Director or any top official in any federal agency should be above being fired.
Of course some people should be fired. Comey should have been fired as soon as it was evident he was sharing information about an “investigation” into Clinton without mentioning the ongoing true investigation into Trump. But now? There’s no legitimate reason for Trump to get rid of him. His excuse is ridiculous. Trump wants an FBI that he can count on to support him, with no scruples involved. And that is yet another declaration of war on America and its people. We better be ready to fight back.
Here’s the problem — can you define the point in time when you say Comey should have been fired? “As soon as it was evident he was sharing information…” was when?
You’ve also implied that Comey is with Trump and therefore, the only possible reason Trump fired him is because he wants someone even more with him. heh — while it didn’t involve a firing but the death of Hoover that was the rationale Nixon used in appointing L Patrick Gray over Mark Felt. Didn’t work out so well for Nixon. If this firing will loosens some tongues, we may all be better off for it.
Comey should have been fired for cause on October 29th, 2016.
Then your beef is with Obama not Trump. But it wouldn’t have been without potential political consequences if Obama had acted as you would have had him do. Obama could also have fired him in the subsequent two months if he’d accepted the HRC claim that Comey cost her the election. The poll numbers don’t support that conclusion, but since when does acting on faulty interpretations stop a President?
I have many beefs with Trump. Firing Comey is not one. I have fewer beefs with Obama. Hiring Comey in the first place is one.
I have fewer beefs with Obama. Hiring Comey in the first place is one.
That’s something that very few people have talked about. Why did Obama appoint Comey in the first place? He was confirmed when the Democrats still controlled the Senate, remember. Supposedly Colbert’s audience cheered tonight when told of the news(They start taping at about 5:30pm Eastern time). Hope it’s because they were happy Comey got shit-canned.
Appointing Comey was consistent with Obama’s other appointments in his first term– lots of Republicans/GOP-friendly types, banksters, neocon/lib interventionists, GOP-aligned generals and spooky Deep State national security folks. Consistent also with some of his other tough-on-crime actions, as with the record deportations.
Dems and liberals who backed him enthusiastically always overlooked his propensity, especially once in the senate, to move politically towards the center and his embrace of the political/economic Establishment.
But given the impressive size of his electoral victory, the type of political hybrid admin he put together was more in keeping with someone who had just won a controversial, razor-thin barely-victory. Unless we consider his mind set, which was always about giving high priority to accommodating the other side of the aisle.
“Appointing Comey was consistent with Obama’s other appointments in his first term– lots of Republicans/GOP-friendly types, banksters, neocon/lib interventionists, GOP-aligned generals and spooky Deep State national security folks. Consistent also with some of his other tough-on-crime actions, as with the record deportations.”
This is, to be modest, a very incomplete and biased representation of the Obama Administration. But what else is new.
A lengthy response could be filed which undermines these broad claims. But I’ve got better things to do today, and few in this community would change their view.
Months into the Trump Administration’s massive corruption, racism, sexism, and 1000% fealty to oligarchs and their institutions, we still hear from people claiming to be progressives who wish to claim the Obama Administration was corrupt and/or ideologically unacceptable. President Obama and his Administration were imperfect, but overall they were by far the best Administration of our lifetimes. It’s appalling that these broad claims about them are still being made.
It’s dispiriting sometimes. The progressive movement has better things to do than to fight about it, though. I’ve decided to do better in keeping my personal and professional focus on fighting Trump and more frequently leaving the haters within our movement in their peculiar corners.
. All those horrors of Donald and more I’m sure, and most rather obvious, noted a thousand times in a thousand blogs, but unlike Obama, I didn’t vote for him, never a possibility for me
. Yes, progressive, or as I prefer, liberal — I go back further than some of you, to before that became a dirty word, and still choose to embrace it. Plus it’s a shorter word to write.
. Not legally corrupt (except perhaps in the violation of int’l law area), but in some non-trivial ways morally corrupt. And he took an ideologically unacceptable and unnecessary posture given his solid election victory and the very solid and substantial liberal backing that put him there
. Not the best in my lifetime — JFK, by a fair margin, including in the area of political courage, for which, somewhat incongruously and awkwardly, the Kennedy Library Foundation saw fit recently to award him their Courage Award. As embarrassing as O’s accepting that premature and unwarranted Nobel Peace Prize. I’m guessing that either the Kennedy family has nowhere near a majority on that foundation board, or that the current crop of Ks is not quite in the same league as previous generations. Obama, nice guy that he is, hardly challenged the Deep State, au contraire. If rumors are true, he feared they would harm him or his family.
Who gives a damn that neither of us voted for Trump? He’s our fucking President now. He and his Adminstration are a den of iniquity, yukking it up with top Russian leaders in the White House today, the day after they took unprecedented action to attempt to spike the FBI’s investigation of possible collusion with the Russian government to subvert American democracy, and you’re here complaining about Obama and how we should improve our relationship with an extraordinarily illiberal foreign rival.
“And he took an ideologically unacceptable and unnecessary posture…”.
Which posture of President Obama’s causes you to lodge this claim? This is unclear and rather grand.
“If (sordid) rumors are true…”
Yeah, that passes for “analysis” from some these days.
In the People’s Front of Judea’s battle for liberation, the Judean People’s Front is always the real enemy, not the Romans.
Keeping the appointment with Lavrov was about the only thing Donald did right in the last 48 hours. Important to a) discuss coordination in the very dicey and complex Syria situation and b) to generally improve US-Russia relations which had badly deteriorated under Obama. It’s just stupid to suggest Donnie should have cancelled because of his domestic political problems. Priorities here are rather obvious.
And I wouldn’t get too smug about calling out other countries for illiberal conditions. Last I checked, we have some serious problems with our crumbling democracy over here, with 2 out of the last 5 elections being awarded to the person who didn’t get the most votes, to take one example. Meanwhile, our msm only feeds us negative news, much of it fabricated, about things over there. Apparently you’ve bought all the propaganda, not the slightest skepticism. Congratulations.
Finally on Obama, he governed, with some exceptions, as if it were Romney in office, including no accountability for the banksters on Wall St, and the totally unnecessary ratcheted up hostilities w/Russia, which has put our country close to the brink of war with a major nuclear power for no good reason.
He was obviously too inexperienced and weak a personality as he came into office, and didn’t seem to grow much in strength in dealing with the Deep Staters as his second term continued. Very disappointing. He missed his big chance to make his mark for the people. Instead, the top 1% became even richer and the middle class still more distressed and hollowed out.
(I’ll let u have the last comment — you seem a bit agitated and might need more time to work that out of your system)
Grade A propaganda serving Putin’s government. This peculiar blend of viewpoints is the type assembled by Russian interests who intend to drive the liberal/progressive movement into quarreling factions.
If you’re not being paid by the Russians, you should seek them out to see if you meet their standards for reimbursable service. It appears to me that you meet the grade for dedication to the cause, but you might want to be a little more subtle to be most successful in bamboozling us; these posts make it shockingly obvious what you’re doing.
You’re a self-described liberal who has no meaningful quarrel at all with what either Trump or Putin are doing with their power. That is literally unbelievable.
Obama should have fired him before her left.
Arguably he should have fired him after the June press conference, but I suspect he believed to do so would have created the temperance of a political firing.
What Obama knew about Russian attempts at espionage is a question history will be quite interested in.
Comey’s shortcomings notwithstanding, the timing of this firing says it all. I don’t often agree with Jeffrey Toobin, but I agree with his take on CNN in the last hour or so that Trump’s firing of Comey is a “grotesque abuse of power”. Firing the man who’s heading the investigation of Russian collusion in your campaign and using as a cover his mishandling of the Clinton email investigation, investigations which you publicly cheered on along the way.
Plus I’ve just read and heard that this firing has been in the works for days. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but why else would you fire the FBI Director unless his investigation was getting too close to you?
conspiracy theorist).
Not over that perfectly reasonable question, anyway.
Have to remember that Trump (and Sessions) are simpletons. If that is the reason why he fired Comey, it’s more likely to add fuel to the fire. Any investigation that would be at the level you’ve suggested involves many people; any one of whom, including Comey, may now leak or go public.
John Dean just said the same thing on MSNBC, firing Comey in this manner just adds fuel to the fire. There were other less incendiary ways to have eased him out. Plus others have speculated that if indeed Comey had lost control of the FBI and its agents, then this action might just cause them to rise up in righteous indigation for the way he was treated. Aaah, the leaks they’re just beginning.
This is one area where Dean has some first hand knowledge. So, not surprising that he would agree with some that were around then and followed the Watergate/Nixon developments.
IMO — the Senate should have merely accepted Sessions recusal on any Trump-Russia investigations. An IC was the only proper way to handle this.
they did accept recusal, what are you talking about?
Sorry — meant to write “…shouldn’t have…” Recusal was too low a bar for Justice when investigating a President.
The Senate’s votes to consent to Sessions’ appointment to the AG slot were on essential party lines. The final vote on February 7th saw 47 No votes from Senate Democratic Caucusmembers, with only Sen. Manchin crossing the aisle. None in the Republican Caucus voted No on the Sessions nomination.
Sessions announced his “decision” (that wasn’t a real decision, we now know) to recuse himself on the Russia investigation on March 2nd.
You appear confused about the timeline, and you appear to wish to obscure which Senators are responsible for this abomination of an AG. I’m happy to clarify the record.
God Cox distrusted John Dean.
He thought the guy was the ultimate narcissist.
I am surprised that no one has mentioned the Sally Yates testimony on Thursday. Very powerful and many dark things were suggested. I don’t consider it simply coincidence that the ax fell less than 24 hours after the lights in the hearing room were turned out.
There already was an open investigation of Comey. Whey was there such urgency they couldn’t wait for that to play out? Why was there such a rush to fire him on Friday, less than 2 weeks after the acting AG assumed his position? And it had to be done when he was out of town without contacting personally and via TV. Surreal.
No one will shed tears over Comey’s exit, but the timing and method scare the hell out of me. I will never forget the Saturday Night Massacre and worry that today there will be no bi-partisan support for the rule of law.
Context matters Marie.
In this context this firing stinks.
May just be a war of leakers
The fact that it is secret means that it is classified until someone like “Deep Throat” (an FBI guy, by the way) leaks it and the media takes it seriously and can run with it like they did with Woodward and Bernstein’s articles.
But these folks are going to be on the lookout for exactly that sort of scenario. And the retaliation will be harsh.
The obvious possibility is to kill the investigation into Trump and others in the administration. Maybe he was getting close to filing on Flynn or someone. I can only wish.
Not unprecedented. William Sessions was the first FBI Director to be fired.
As an ex-prosecutor myself, I can sympathize.
Josh Marshall has an interesting take on this: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/into-the-abyss-trump-fires-comey
This should make everybody happy, but for different reasons.
Well, thank god we at least did not elect a neoliberal with her own email server, who suffers from an undisclosed illness, and while a private citizen gave speeches to Goldman Sachs!
We dodged that bullet, so all that work wasn’t wasted.
.
I have to worry now if Trump and Sessions will mount another attack on Clinton. She seems an easy target. They have made her life a hell and the hatred is still there.
Twitterscuttlebutt says an Espionage Law indictment. Don’t be surprised if it also tries to rope in Obama.
Don’t be surprised if the evidence comes out of the NY FBI office.
I repeat my question about the reaction of the Congressional poodles.
Or is this Pence’s moment?
Oh, well, if it’s Twitterscuttlebutt, it must be true.
No, it plays on yet another Trump campaign promise: to jail Hillary Clinton.
The intent might be true, but I doubt that the EDVA US Attorney will file the charges because the evidence is nonsense. Which might provoke another firing like that of Preet Bharara.
Something along those lines might well be being kicked around.
Susan Collins’ immediate response to the Comey firing — she’s wooly-headed enough to think along these lines — was basically ‘Good. Props to whomever for getting rid of someone who was so mean to Hillary.” Clearly thinking ‘we sistas got to stick together’.
It’s the kind of pseudo-feminism that’s her stock-in-trade.
in the meeting: “Find/manufacture me an excuse to fire Comey.”
Recalling Bush/Cheney: “Find/manufacture me an excuse to invade Iraq.”
Your imagination coincides with reality, apparently.
You can read the DAJ three page letter on why this was necessary on HP. This has to be either a way to pull the plug on the Russia investigation and/or to go after Clinton again. Gawd I hope they leave her out of this, but hatred knows no bounds.
For somebody who is supposed to be a nonpartisan federal official, Jim Comey has been an absolute cornucopia of goodness for Donald Trump.
— His actions in 2016, and especially the appalling Oct. 28 intervention, likely assured Trump’s election, at least per Nate Silver.
— Those same actions provided an entirely adequate bipartisan basis for firing him — something that Obama should have done, and which many Democrats urged him to do. That the reasons in the Rosenstein letter were almost certainly not the real motivations of either Trump or Sessions does not make those reasons any less valid. Rosenstein, after all, quotes quite a number of eminences of both parties to Comey’s detriment.
— And of course, by providing Trump with this basis for his own firing, Comey allows Trump to appoint a henchman as FBI Director who will certainly smother the Trump-Russia investigation, while suffering a good deal less political damage for doing so than he would have had he been required to sustain the full brunt of the firing.
If justice were to be served, Jim Comey would spend the rest of his life in unemployed disgrace. He is clearly unworthy of anybody’s trust, and no matter how long he remains alive he will never outlive this disgrace, nor will he be able to do anything substantial to counteract the effects of his malfeasance.
Well, he very clearly showed what he was made of in the Clinton e mail investigation and the shit a week before the election, while ignoring any mention of Trump and his team. So he made his bed.
I too thought Obama had enough to fire him back in late October. Not sure why that didn’t happen — was Obama just too nice a guy?
I guess we’ll have to wait for his $65m book to come out for a fuller explanation.
Edward SnowdenVerified account @Snowden 2h2 hours ago
Edward Snowden Retweeted Edward Snowden
This FBI Director has sought for years to jail me on account of my political activities. If I can oppose his firing, so can you.
Edward Snowden added,
Edward SnowdenVerified account @Snowden
Set aside politics: every American should condemn such political interference in the Bureau’s work. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/09/us/politics/james-comey-fired-fbi.html …
LOL
Obama should have fired Comey, never should have appointed him in the first place, and not for one minute do I oppose his firing even if Trump is doing the right thing for the wrong reason. Fuck Comey.
>>every American should condemn such political interference in the Bureau’s work
every American should condemn the Bureau’s interference in politics
Who else would he have gotten confirmed through the Republican Senate?
The NYT gets to the nitty-gritty:
Nice The Apprentice touch, isn’t it? Welcome to the Reality TV Presidency.
One poodle begins barking:
Justin AmashVerified account @justinamash
Justin Amash Retweeted CNN
My staff and I are reviewing legislation to establish an independent commission on Russia. The second paragraph of this letter is bizarre.
2nd para is T claiming he was absolved, not true of course
○ How Trump could kill the investigation by James Comey’s actions
“The decision by Michael Horowitz, the I.G., to examine the propriety of the F.B.I. director’s
disclosure of politically damaging information about Clinton last October 28th was the right one.”
○ Why did the White House ignore Sally Yates’s warning about Michael Flynn?
Jeffrey Toobin on CNN says it is not credible to fire Comey now for what he did last year. And Trump was happy with it all. The only reason has to be Russia. Now we are hearing from Kellyanne who I’m certain has some alternate facts for us to hear about.
Wait…what?!?
Is this them trying to prove that they’re inept morons and not evil masterminds?
On the other hand, it fits what we know about Trump very well. He probably can’t figure out why Dem party wouldn’t cheer the axe for Comey, who after all fucked them.
I realize that she has gotten some really bad press over the last few months, but this Patribotics/Loiuise Mensch website (And how many others?) knew about the convened and working grand juries several days ago if not longer. (Go there for further links.)
She’s got connections.
Good, bad, reliable, straight-out hustle…?
I dunno.
All of the above, I think.
This whole stink is all about “false news”as far as I am concerned.
Two hustler groups working on the same marks.
US!!!
May the best hustlers win.
Disgusting.
AG
her stuff is not reliable based on others I read. erratic and I wonder if she abuses what sources she does have
I wonder too.
Personally, think that she is a mouthpiece for some collection of Deep State spooks…Brit and U.S. both.
Know thine enemy…
AG
I wouldn’t take any understanding of IC from her twitter – hers is pretty much some fictional mystique combined with disinformation. there are good twitter feeds from ppl who base their comments on solid info some from IC sources. I found her planespotting series constructive but generally her material I consider disinformation and I don’t even find it entertaining actually. for useful twitter look at Tim Hogan, David Corn, some of the news ppl have excellent – by this I mean useful insights, reliable info and links- twitter feeds, and of course Scott Dworkin.
She’s receiving leaks from the British.
No doubt.
AG
yes, selective, planted. it can be fun reading but I don’t take it seriously as info,
Early Reporting …
Mrs. Louise Mensch:
“I can add to the story that sources have pointed me at PACER records in both the Eastern District of Virginia and the Southern District of New York, which I have verified independently.”
Besides Louise Mensch = Rupert Murdoch = Bibi Netanyahu : more reporting …
Appears to be a proxy war between the Clintons and Trumpists 😉
Hey AG … what’s your affiliation? 🙂
The link to the NY court’s case:
Case name not on file
Case Number: 1:2017cv02770
Filed: April 17, 2017
Court: New York Southern District Court
Office: Foley Square Office
Nature of Suit: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations
Cause of Action: 28:1332
Jury Demanded By: Plaintiff
A lot of speculation!
I’m a Thumpist. :->
AG
this is interesting –
FAKE NEWS – FAKE ADMINISTRATION – EXCEPTIONAL .. NOT!
For all the talk I see around here of “all this Russia stuff” either amounting to nothing or a distraction from the real issues, it sure preoccupies a lot of Trump’s mental energy:
Behind Comey’s firing: An enraged Trump, fuming about Russia; The president deliberated for more than a week before ousting the FBI chief who was investigating Trump associates
“All this Russia stuff” is a distraction until the actual evidence starts being put on the table. That requires declassification of classified material. So far the neither the intelligence community (through official leaks) or the White House (Obama or Trump) have not wanted to do that declassification.
Comey’s firing is one piece of circumstantial evidence that the charges of collusion with Russia might be true.
Democracy is best served with fewer secrets, restricted to the most important items.
Of course, fessing up that one was wiretapping a Presidential candidate, even with cause, would be an unprecedented action and would lead to questions about who else are you wiretapping without cause. Taking the gloves off and ignoring the Constitution has painted the national security folks into a corner on this particular issue. Even Yates could not tell directly in a public hearing what she knew. And that is not helpful politically for ensuring the Congress acts for country instead of party. Or gets turned out.
I wonder if the thin-skinned Godfather was getting a little impatient with Comey seeming to drag out the Russiagate investigation while day after day the Donald had to endure more evidence-free reporting about his alleged collusion. And didn’t care at all for Comey constantly reminding him he wasn’t (yet) under investigation.
After 10 months or so of no evidence, a little bit of evidence at this point should have come out, long ago. Suspicious in itself.
True. But, it can also be evidence the charges are not true if we consider a) Donald knows the allegations are false and b) he was getting fed up having to deal with/hear about the allegations on a daily/weekly basis in the WH as the FBI investigation seemed to drag on. Better, as he saw it, to put someone more reliable and clear-headed in there who could bring it all to an end, perhaps so he could finally undertake better relations with the Russians w/o suspicions hanging over his head.
The amount of leeway and benefit of the doubt you are willing to extend any issue involving Russia is just extraordinary to me. Under no circumstances can I imagine people who are ostensibly on the left side of the spectrum doing this for any other issue.
NYT: Days Before He Was Fired, Comey Asked for Money for the Russia Investigation
The amount of leeway and benefit of the doubt establishment Dems are willing to extend any allegation involving Russia is just extraordinary to me. If an unsubstantiated allegation re Russia is reported in the NYT and, right on cue, breathlessly repeated on CNN and a dozen other msm outlets, to those Dems it must be true.
My position has always been — show me the evidence. Not another re-hash of hearsay, unattributed leaks from our intel agencies, almost certainly intended to squelch any attempt by the Donald at détente with the Russkies.
As we all make preparations to celebrate the 43d anniversary of Nixon’s downfall this August, I’m reminded of that line from ATPM spoken by the able and talented Jason Robards, allegedly quoting Ben Bradlee: When the hell is someone going to go on the record in this goddamned story!
Jeff Sessions wants Trump to appoint a Sessions lap dog as FBI Director. And McConnell will make sure that he/she is confirmed.
They want their own hands on the FBI-requested NSA data.
Is Giuliani a Sessions lap dog?
Don’t know. You follow these guys much closer than I.
But I’m sure they want a guy they can control. Who doesn’t? no one wants a new Hoover.
Giuliani is subject of an investigation
Turkish component also
If — IF — there is some there there, appointing a lap dog for Trump at the FBI will only make his situation worse, reeking as it would as a cover up.
The media and Dems won’t let up in that event, making life for Donald in the WH even more of a pressure cooker than he had with Comey.
Appointing a lap dog also won’t solve another problem, namely that the allegedly incriminating information Comey had on Trump/his campaign and collusion with the Kremlin didn’t just reside with Comey, although a Comey unbound and probably feeling rather miffed does not bode well for Donald if indeed the Comester does have that incriminating info.
Not just Comey — it’s virtually certain others in the FBI food chain would have such info, and it’s possible one honest and ethical one in the bunch could be found who might decide to talk or leak. Very likely I should think.
they want access to the files. keep in mind WH copied and took classified info