James Comey Fired

Even Fox News is leading with the latter-day Archibald Cox firing. Wow. This president really doesn't care what anyone thinks of him.

James Comey deserved firing, and I've said as much, for his mishandling of the Clinton e-mail non-scandal and his violation of the Hatch Act.  And ostensibly, that was the reason given for his firing.

But it makes no sense on any level to do it now.  During the campaign Trump actually praised Comey for his botched investigation of Clinton, and Trump certainly benefited from the timing of Comey's release.  Obama had ample grounds for dismissing Comey but refrained from doing so because it would look like he was supporting Hillary's campaign.

Now Trump has done it -- on the advice of Jeff Sessions, who officially recused himself from the investigations into Hillary's e-mails and Trump's Russia ties -- and on the advice of Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein -- who has been in this office a mere two weeks -- on the eve of Comey's own investigations into Trump's Russian ties.

On my way home tonight I passed a woman standing at a major intersection holding a handmade sign, "IMPEACH NOW."  Trump has gone too far now.

NoCoPilot wrote:

But it makes no sense on any level to do it now.

Of course it makes sense. The FBI is investigating the possibility of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. Everyone knows that is why Comey was fired.

After Archibald Cox was fired by Nixon, the Republicans went after Nixon (and the bumper stickers read "Impeach the Cox Sacker"). Now we will see what the Republicans in Congress are made of (as if we didn't know).

Today's news reports Comey had recently requested additional resources -- staff and money -- for his investigation of the Trump campaign and its ties to Russia.

He was fired for obviously expanding his investigation. He was fired for not concentrating -- as Trump and House Republicans wanted him to -- on identifying the person or persons who leaked the existence of the FBI's Trump probe to the press. THAT is where the investigation should be, and only there, according to the GOP.

The first count of Nixon's impeachment was obstruction of justice. I can't see why anyone would have a doubt that Trump has now committed that offense more than once.

It's a shame that the Republicunts are in charge of the House. And that those Rs have absolutely no integrity, no decency, and no shame.

A Coup in Real Time? Historian Says Comey Firing Is Trump's 'Open Admission of Collusion With Russia'

Chauncey DeVega wrote:

I spoke with historian Timothy Snyder about what Trump’s election means for America. (He is the author of the new book “On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century.”) During that conversation, Snyder warned that the American people have less than a year to resist the creeping tide of authoritarianism embodied by Donald Trump’s regime.

Snyder also made a second prediction: Donald Trump will stage his own version of Adolf Hitler’s Reichstag fire — a manufactured crisis or some other type of political or social upheaval — to enact a state of emergency or otherwise consolidate his power by subverting America’s political institutions.

Is Trump’s firing of Comey the next step in this direction?

All this talk about Trump committing felonies and impeachable offenses ignores the very real fact that articles of impeachment must be drawn up by the House and ratified by the Senate.

That ain't gonna happen.

Best case scenario, the country tires of this National Enquirer president and the 2018 elections to Congress strip out his majorities. Then in the 2nd half of his first term maybe we can get an impeachment going.

But as y'all have noted, President Pence will be a rude awakening to anyone who thinks things can't get any worse.  If Pence if impeached too, who does the office descend to:  Speaker Ryan, or Pence's appointed vice?  (See Gerald Ford)

I could see, in all seriousness, Pence appointing Newt Gingrich.

As you mentioned, if impeachments are working, the Democrats will have made substantial inroads into congress. In that case, Ryan probably won't be Speaker.

A constitutional scholar I know says if there is a VP, he (or she) gets elevated when the pres is impeached.

So, hello President Newt in 2019!

Comey, in testimony today before a open session of Congress, called President Trump a liar in more than one instance. Has the ever happened before, an FBI director calling the president a liar?

After the session, Comey headed into a closed door briefing in a SKIF where some of the thornier issues he could not discuss in public will presumably be revealed. Congress does not have the power to charge the president with a crime, but they do have the power of impeachment, if they can muster the will.

And for the first time, because of Comey's devastating testimony, MoveOn is openly calling for impeachment.

A few days ago, a Representative from Texas - I think his name is Al Green, but I could be wrong - said he was drawing up articles of impeachment, despite the death threats he has received since announcing his intention to do so.

NoCoPilot wrote:

Congress does not have the power to charge the president with a crime, but they do have the power of impeachment, if they can muster the will.  

Its interesting, viewing the different analyses of Comey's testimony in today's news.

The liberal and mainstream media are focusing on the fact that the former director of the FBI called the president a liar, and his Attorney General is under active investigation for treasonous collusion with the the Russians, and his son-in-law who apparently runs half the government sought to set up a secret secure communications channel with the Russians that would be unmonitored by the NSA.

Meanwhile, Fox News and the president are saying that Comey's testimony vindicates the president, proves he was not personally under investigation, and have accused Comey of leaking classified information (his meeting notes are NOT classified).

Astonishing divergence of understanding.

Trump's fifth grade taunt of Comey after his testimony was to call him "leaker."

Whatever happened to "the most transparent administration in history"?  Seems he's got a lot of secrets ... for a transparent president.

Lame duck House Republicans are still chanting "Lock Her Up" in unison - more than a year and a half later.  The DOJ investigated.  Twice!  Neither time found anything prosecutable.  Quit wasting taxpayer dollars.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi wrote:

It reinforced my view that the Clinton probe has fully run its course.

Oh Jesus Fucking Lord.  The transcript is even worse than I imagined in my worst fucking nightmare.  What a goddamn piece of shit Trey Gowdy is.  Unfuckingbelievable.

Quote :

Mr. Gowdy. February of 2016, Lisa Page wrote: Trump simply cannot be President.
February of 2016, Peter Strzok wrote: Trump's abysmal, hoping people will just dump him.
February of 2016, Lisa Page wrote: She might be our next President.
March 2016, Lisa Page wrote: Trump is a loathsome human.
March of 2016, Strzok wrote: Trump's an idiot.
March of 2016, Strzok wrote: Hillary should win 100 million to zero.
Do you recall whether the Democrat primary was still ongoing in March of 2016?
Mr. Comey. Do I know whether the Democratic primary was ongoing in March of 2016? I think so, yes.
Mr. Gowdy. So, if you are correct that the Democratic primary was still open in March of 2016, I read that as Special Agent Peter Strzok commenting that she should win the primary 100 million to zero. And I guess an alternative reading of that would be that he already had her as the nominee and she should win the general 100 million to zero. Is there another reading other than those two, winning the primary or winning the general?
Mr. Comey. I'm not in a position to interpret their text exchanges, so I can't answer that.
Mr. Gowdy. In the course of human history, has anyone won an election 100 million to zero, to your knowledge?
Mr. Comey. In the United States?
Mr. Gowdy. Anywhere.
Mr. Comey. I don't mean to be facetious. I can't speak to Stalin's reelection or Mao Tse-tung reelection campaigns. In --
Mr. Gowdy. 100 million to zero is a lot.
Mr. Comey. Sure. I'm not trying to be facetious, but I remember as a student the vote in Soviet Russia was 99.9 percent to...
Mr. Gowdy. We are going to get to Russia in a little bit.

Gowdy is acting as if somebody having a low opinion of Trump is A) somehow surprising and B) disqualifying for being an FBI agent.  How about stupidity being disqualifying for a Congressman?