Merged Trump Fires Comey....

Meadmaker said:
Well this is an interesting development. I've just been skimming, but I haven't seen reference to this.

According to an anonymous source that is allegedly a close associate of Mr. Comey, Comey refused the invitation to testify to a closed session of a Congressional committee, but said he would testify to a public session.

I do so hope this report is true.
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That's because he's a grandstanding showboat.
 
The Great Zaganza said:
Comey knows hw deep the GOP is tied up in this: it looks more and more that if Trump falls, he'll take Pence and the entire RNC-leadership with him.

TBH, that would explain a lot why most of the critics of Trump within the GOP have kept quiet. It is inhuman how little spine Cruz or Christie have and how little fight there is in Rubio - but if someone told them that gunning for Donald could mean the end of the Party itself, they probably would do whatever, just not to get caught in the net of prosecution.
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Or Comey could just be a showboat like the president says?
 
Meadmaker said:
Well this is an interesting development. I've just been skimming, but I haven't seen reference to this.

According to an anonymous source that is allegedly a close associate of Mr. Comey, Comey refused the invitation to testify to a closed session of a Congressional committee, but said he would testify to a public session.

I do so hope this report is true.
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Isn't that the same position he took when he testified in the US Attorney dismissal scandal?
 
Carl Bernstein said something on CNN this morning which I concur with... If the senate and/or Justice Dept doesn't subpoena the white house "tape" recordings -- right away -- we'll know the investigations aren't serious.
 
varwoche said:
Carl Bernstein said something on CNN this morning which I concur with... If the senate and/or Justice Dept doesn't subpoena the white house "tape" recordings -- right away -- we'll know the investigations aren't serious.
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James Fallows, writing in The Atlantic, echoes Bernstein's sentiment:

I was 24 years old when I followed Charles Wiggins—and the other Republicans of that era, from Barry Goldwater and Howard Baker (and many Senate colleagues) to Elliot Richardson and William Ruckelshaus, who finally decided to be remembered for something greater than clinging to office or toeing the party line. Somewhere a 24-year-old is watching and preparing to remember the choices our leaders are making now. Because of the current lineup of legislative and executive power, the leaders whose choices matter are all Republicans.

I hope some of their choices, soon, allow them to be remembered as positively as are the GOP’s defenders of constitutional process from the Watergate days. But as of this moment, the challenge to the American system seems more extreme than in that era, and the protective resources weaker.
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https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/05/comey-watergate/526443/
 
180 Former Federal Prosecutors for Southern District of New York Call for Special Counsel to Oversee FBI Investigation:

While we do not all necessarily agree with the manner in which he dealt with the conclusion of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, we sincerely believe that his abrupt and belated termination for this conduct, occurring months later and on the heels of his public testimony about his oversight of the investigation of Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election, has the appearance – if not the reality – of interfering with that investigation. Even if this investigation continues unabated, there is a substantial risk that the American people will not have confidence in its results, no matter who is appointed to succeed him, given that the Director of the FBI serves at the pleasure of the President. We believe it is critical in the present political climate and clearly in the public’s interest that this investigation be directed by a truly independent, non-partisan prosecutor who is independent of the Department of Justice, as is contemplated by 28 C.F.R. §600.1.
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http://www.cityprojectca.org/blog/archives/44440
 
NYMag has an excellent interview with John Dean.

In what ways do you think he’s like Nixon?

Well, I think they’re both authoritarian personalities. We only know of Nixon’s full personality because of his taping system. But Trump just doesn’t try to hide anything, he’s just out there. Nixon was very shy with strangers and audiences and what have you. Highly rehearsed, really prepared himself for everything from press conferences to what looked like extemporaneous speeches. Nixon was very inarticulate in a very similar way to Trump when he was just speaking to people on his staff and what have you, a lot of repetition, a lot of jumbled phrases rather than sentences, thoughts are choppy. Nixon was a narcissist to a degree, not quite as off the charts as Trump, but you don’t have many wallflowers that do run for president.

Can we talk about the Saturday Night Massacre? Did you think that Tuesday night was anything like that?

There were some echoes, but not much more. Echoes being the brutal way it was handled, and so unnecessary. But not quite the same stage, where Comey wasn’t defying Trump, whereas Archibald Cox clearly was, and both of them had the power to do what they did, but it wasn’t very wise to do.
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Get ready for the next act.

The Spotlight Shifts to the DOJ Inspector General
How might Attorney General Sessions and his Deputy Rosenstein react if Horowitz discerns facts or reaches conclusions about Comey’s behavior that are contrary to or in tension with Rosenstein’s memorandum? Might they try to shut down the investigation or prevent the release of its conclusions? ...

How will President Trump react once he realizes that the reasons for his decision to fire Comey will potentially be second-guessed by an Obama appointee? Will he fire Horowitz as he did Obama appointees Sally Yates and James Comey? Three months ago Jeffrey Toobin worried that Trump might shut down the IG investigation. But now the stakes of the investigation, and the potential downsides of allowing it to reach completion, are much larger.
If Trump decides to fire Horowitz, will he abide by the IG statute’s requirement that he give Congress 30 days’ notice before doing so, during which period Horowitz could continue to gather facts on the matter? Or will he follow the 1977 OLC opinion that concluded that the restriction was unconstitutional?

Will Horowitz accept House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz’s request to investigate the firing of James Comey? If he does, will Trump and Sessions allow it to continue? The Inspector General Statute authorizes the IG to investigate at least the DOJ side of the firing, which could reveal a lot of truthful detail about the President’s decision. Sessions, Rosenstein, or Trump might not like that.
Senator Grassley counseled critics of the Comey firing to “suck it up and move on.” But Senator Grassley is also a famous supporter of inspectors general. ...
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The IG investigation was supposed to look into how the Clinton investigation was conducted. No doubt Republican legislators are still trying to convict Clinton for a criminal act that were it anyone else would have been workplace errors. Then Comey doubled down and against FBI tradition, interfered with the election. Now that is expanding to Trump's firing of Comey and Sessions not sticking with his recusal.

Is Trump stupid enough to keep firing people?

:popcorn1
 
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Stacko said:
NYMag has an excellent interview with John Dean.
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Great article. Thanks for the link.

I thought the final question and answer was telling.
Q. How do you think all of this ends?
A. How does it all end? [Laughs.] Not well for Trump. I’m not too good at the tea leaves, I don’t think anybody is. I just can’t believe that there isn’t something there on the Russia matter, with Trump doing all that he’s doing. He’s throwing every signal out that he’s got a problem, and he’s trying to make it go away. So that’s why I say I can’t imagine it ending real well for him. He’s trying to bend reality to his vision of what it should be, and that’s pretty hard to do.
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