Merged Trump Fires Comey....

[KoihimeNakamura]

Sessions was told to find reasons to fire Comey: reports

Some are speculating this is due to Comey's popularity.. which .. well...

 

[Worm]

To be honest, I'm not close enough to all the issues at hand to speak with any kind of value on why these events have come about, but for what it's worth, here are my thoughts:

1. I'm surprised it took this long. Comey seems to have been all over the place, changing his mind and having to correct information. If I did my job that way, I'd expect to be at least reprimanded, and possibly fired, so I don't really see it as that shocking as an isolated act. I haven't seen anyone defending Comey as a fine FBI Director who has been unfairly targeted.

2. The wording of the letter from Trump is odd. Who wrote that? Who approved it? The sentence about investigations in the middle of the fairly routine formal stuff stands out like a sore thumb, and is such a non-sequitur.

I have accepted their recommendation and you are hereby terminated and removed from office, effective immediately.

While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau.

It doesn't belong in that letter, it's nothing to do with the action he's taking. I have to assume that a very highly paid communications professional was involved in drafting this letter, and they let that in? I guess Trump insisted on it, which is just stupid.

 

[The Don]

Sessions was told to find reasons to fire Comey: reports

"Interesting" way to recuse yourself from involvement in the FBI investigation into allegations of Russian involvement in the election and allegations of Russian ties to the Trump administration and business - to advise the sacking of the FBI director

That's not to say that Comey should still be in post, IMO his leaking of information was a factor in Hillary's defeat and seemed very partial, but I query both the timing and the actual (as opposed to stated) motivation.

The BBC are suggesting that Chris Christie or Rudy Giuliani could be in line to be the next FBI director. If that's the case then I don't think that the right motives apply.

 

[Stacko]

Firing Comey won't end the Russia investigation.

https://www.wired.com/2017/05/trump-firing-fbi-director-comey-wont-slow-russia-investigation-yet/

But Donald thought it would.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/10/comey-firing-trump-russia-238192

 

[Craig4]

If there's one thing that could make this worse for The Hair, it's pushing a "drop the Russia" investigation" narrative while defending the Comey firing. I really hope he does. Worse for The Hair is better for the country.

 

[ponderingturtle]

So what does that mean? Is Trump going to order Clinton's prosecution? That would put her back in the public eye for years, after she's already started to fade away. Why would he benefit from that?

Exactly no one expects him to keep any of his campaign promises anyway. That was a metaphor like the wall, or the lack of corners in the oval office.

 

[KoihimeNakamura]

Well, it looks like the narrative is starting, at least:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/10/politics/comey-yates-bharara-fired-after-investigations/

 

[quadraginta]

Not when the man himself and his regime are under investigation. This BS woulden't fly in any lesser level of government. Comey should refuse to leave and dare Trump to force him out, which would prove once and for all that 2016 was a coup, not an election.

Little late for that. Once Trump fired him he was already out.

Hanging around his office and refusing to leave the building wouldn't change that.

 

[quadraginta]

Neither of these are really analogous. In the NPS situation the harassment was covered up rather than dealt with and it took new management to uncover and deal with it. In the O'Rielly situation the historic complaints unearthed by the New York Times would unlikely have sunk him. It was the two fresh allegations on the 18th, over two weeks after the initial article that caused FOX to part ways with him. It wasn't like FOX called him in and said, "Hey Bill, you remember those harassment complaints that you had in 2004 and we paid out on, we're firing you for them."

I don't think so.

It was O'Reilly's advertisers threatening to leave like fleas dropping off of a sick rat that caused Fox to dump him.

The new allegations may have been what influenced the advertisers, but that isn't the same thing. If they had stayed on board any number of new allegations wouldn't have fazed Fox. Fox has canned responses for those, as long as it doesn't hurt them in the wallet.

 

[quadraginta]

(Fixed link.)



Like I said, a gigantic hypocrite. But Democrats who were once calling for Comey to resign shouldn't forget that either.

I think that for the most part they haven't forgotten anything. Questioning Trump's motives for firing him now is not the same as suddenly deciding that his actions and behavior before had somehow become okay.

 

[Meadmaker]

I see a lot of knee-jerk reactions to this, but upon reading the reasons, I have to say I agree with them.

Suggested reading:

Rod Rosenstein's letter recommending Comey is fired

(Goes on to quote the opinions of many former Attorneys General and Deputy Attorneys General from both parties)

So please stop freaking out. He was fired for cause. Granted, he was in a difficult position, and none of this would have ever happened if Hillary Clinton hadn't decided to set up her own private e-mail server. But, he still made incorrect choices in how to carry out his own job.

That's one messed up letter.

The core of it is that Comey shouldn't have offered any opinion about prosecution. However, he was asked to do so. The author of the letter talks about "nearly unanimous" condemnation of Comey's actions. That just shows the guy is living in an echo chamber.

Until I actually read the letter, I was thinking that maybe there was a good excuse for this. Maybe it was that some insiders were worried that all this presidential politics stuff had distracted him from his real duties, and maybe the real problem was that some of the other things the FBI was supposed to do were not being done well.

Now that I've seen the reasons stated, we can confirm that's not true. It's politics, politics, and politics.

Good luck, Donald, and I do not mean that sincerely, even a little bit. You are going to find that being a reality TV star isn't nearly a much fun when you cannot write the script or edit the final version.

 

[varwoche]

Firing Comey won't end the Russia investigation.

https://www.wired.com/2017/05/trump-firing-fbi-director-comey-wont-slow-russia-investigation-yet/

Who are you and what did you do with Puppycow?

Firing Comey taints the investigation, and once Trump appoints a toadie, it will subvert the investigation. The senate doesn't have a staff to speak of. They depend on the FBI. The House committee has already been blown up.

Whatever Comey's failings, the real "failing" is that Trump couldn't control him. This is a bare naked attempt to subvert the investigation, no less obvious than when Nixon fired Cox.

The notion that Comey's handling of Clinton -- which delighted Trump and earned his praise --- is the actual reason is ******** on steroids. Doesn't pass the giggle test.

 

[The Don]

Who are you and what did you do with Puppycow?

Firing Comey taints the investigation, and once Trump appoints a toadie, it will subvert the investigation. The senate doesn't have a staff to speak of. They depend on the FBI. The House committee has already been blown up.

Whatever Comey's failings, the real "failing" is that Trumo couldn't control him. This is a bare naked attempt to subvert the investigation, no less obvious than when Nixon fired Cox.

The notion that Comey's treatment of Clinton is the actual reason is ******** on steroids. Doesn't pass the giggle test.

Unfortunately, the GOP-controlled House and Senate will not want to cause waves w.r.t. the Trump administration and so Trump will be free to install his own creature as FBI director and then he'll have the choice of letting the FBI investigation wither and die or indeed direct it to exonerate him completely and instead blame Obama.

 

[Fast Eddie B]

I see a lot of knee-jerk reactions to this...

I'd think Washington area chiropractors are in boom times...

...treating for whiplash.

On both sides.

"Comey - Hero or Goat?"

From the left:

Declines to prosecute Hillary: Hero.

Informs congress of potential evidence coming to light in the investigation: Goat.

Fired by Trump: Hero.

And from the right, flip everything 180°.

Fascinating to watch, but in a "car wreck" sort of way.

 

[varwoche]

Unfortunately, the GOP-controlled House and Senate will not want to cause waves w.r.t. the Trump administration and so Trump will be free to install his own creature as FBI director and then he'll have the choice of letting the FBI investigation wither and die or indeed direct it to exonerate him completely and instead blame Obama.

I'm hopeful that this time it's a step too far, and that a special prosecutor will be appointed. This depends on republicans like McCain and Sasse gaining traction.

 

[The Don]

I'd think Washington area chiropractors are in boom times...

...treating for whiplash.

On both sides.

"Comey - Hero or Goat?"

From the left:

Declines to prosecute Hillary: Hero.

Informs congress of potential evidence coming to light in the investigation: Goat.

Fired by Trump: Hero.

And from the right, flip everything 180°.

Fascinating to watch, but in a "car wreck" sort of way.

Is anyone on the Democratic Party side suggesting that Comey is/was a hero ?

I thought that their issue wasn't that Comey was fired but rather the timing of the firing and suspicions about the motives for the firing.

 

[Fast Eddie B]

Is anyone on the Democratic Party side suggesting that Comey is/was a hero ?

I thought that their issue wasn't that Comey was fired but rather the timing of the firing and suspicions about the motives for the firing.

I'll grant that "hero" is a bit too strong a word.

But they sure are quick now to defend someone they were certainly demonizing a very short time ago.

 

[The Don]

I'm hopeful that this time it's a step too far, and that a special prosecutor will be appointed. This depends on republicans like McCain and Sasse gaining traction.

I know little about Sasse, but for decades IMO McCain has talked a good game but when push comes to shove he meekly falls in line with the party.

I don't think that McCain will do anything material with respect to this. He may make noises about "considering" doing things but in the end he'll capitulate.

By firing Comey, and installing his own man, Trump will have managed to stop all investigations into links with Russia.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

I'll grant that "hero" is a bit too strong a word.

But they sure are quick now to defend someone they were certainly demonizing a very short time ago.

The know firsthand that Comey can do massive damage, and they consider it unfair that after having done his worst on Clinton he won't be given the chance to do the same to Trump.

 

[The Don]

I'll grant that "hero" is a bit too strong a word.

But they sure are quick now to defend someone they were certainly demonizing a very short time ago.

Are they defending Comey, because I haven't heard that from this side of the Atlantic. What I have heard is that, given the praise heaped on Comey by Trump during and immediately after the election campaign w.r.t. the e-mail investigation, it's strange that he's being fired for that same thing.

Instead they are questioning motives and suggesting that this has more to do with killing off the Russia investigations.