Trump fires FBI Director James Comey

[Spider-Dan]

Trump just fired Comey for... his unfair mistreatment of Hillary Clinton in the e-mail investigation:



And now we are left with a President firing an FBI director who is in the middle of an investigation into whether or not that President colluded with a foreign power to affect an election.  If it was really that easy all along, why didn't Bill Clinton simply fire Ken Starr?  Hmmm.

Just to sum up the Trump regime, four months in:

- the media are "liars" who undermine the republic
- the courts are "corrupt" and cannot be trusted
- law enforcement in charge of investigating Trump is summarily dismissed

Reichstag smelling kind of smoky these days.

[Spider-Dan]

I'd also like to add that this is just another reason why this investigation should have had a special prosecutor assigned months ago: in such a scenario, Trump would be able to fire Comey (who clearly deserves to be fired) without causing a constitutional crisis.

Of course, if we're being serious then it's obvious that if Comey were not the one investigating Trump, there would be no need to deploy the lamest excuse in the history of politics to fire him.  We're seriously supposed to believe that the real, genuine reason President Trump is firing Comey is... the same actions that candidate Trump praised him for?

[CF DolFan]

Not my words but sums up my feelings exactly. I had conversations with Hillary supporters where I agreed that he should be fired. It seemed pretty obvious to me that many people from both sides had lost faith in him and as such he was just one more reason people don't trust government.

1. Comey never should have issued his July 2016 exoneration of Hillary Clinton. If he thought she shouldn’t be prosecuted, he should have made that recommendation and shut up. Instead, he felt the necessity to protect Attorney General Loretta Lynch and supposedly the FBI, and so he spilled the beans on the myriad reasons she should have been prosecuted, demonstrated that he had rewritten the law to protect Hillary, and then let her off the hook. This necessitated Comey appearing before Congress to explain himself, and pledging to keep them updated.

2. Comey issued the infamous October 28 letter informing Congress that the FBI had uncovered new emails in the Anthony Weiner investigation. The letter itself was a bombshell that rocked the Hillary campaign just days out from a presidential election. Comey then rushed the turnaround so that he could exonerate her again a couple of days before the election, but according to the Democrats, Comey was now responsible for electing Trump.

3. Comey appeared before Congress to explain himself, and instead made an ass of himself. He even misstated the evidence regarding Huma Abedin, necessitating that the FBI inform Congress.


In short, Comey had lost both the trust of the Trump administration and the trust of the public. There was no reason not to fire him. That’s what Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein stated in his letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions calling for Comey’s firing: “I cannot defend the Director’s handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton’s emails, and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken…The FBI is unlikely to regain public and congressional trust until it has a Director who understands the gravity of the mistakes and pledges never to repeat them.”

[Fau Teixeira]

And yet, even with all that very thoughtful reasoning CF, the end result is that Trump fired the person in charge of investigating his campaign's possibly treasonous ties with russia in order to influence the election.

I'm actually OK with trump firing Comey, But now the situation is such that we can't trust the justice department to investigate the president or his campaign, so there must be an independent prosecutor ala ken starr that the president can't fire that would be in charge of the investigation.

[Phishfan]

If it was really that easy all along, why didn't Bill Clinton simply fire Ken Starr?  Hmmm.

Just to speak on this one point at this time, he couldn't fire Starr. They have two different positions, Comey was Director of the FBI and Starr was Independent Council, which is specifically designed so that they do not answer to the President. Independent Council can only be dismissed by the Attorney General.

That's part of the reason people wanted the similar office (Independent Council has been replaced) to take over the Russian probe.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Anybody who believes Trump fired Comey over the email investigation of Clinton rather than the Russian Trump investigation is either a liar or a fool.

[Dave Gray]

It is beyond absurdity to think that this has anything to do with the Clinton situation.  We are living history -- pay attention.

[Spider-Dan]

Keep this in mind:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation because of his earlier inaccurate statements to Congress on the subject.
And yet Sessions recommended to Trump that Comey - the person leading the investigation into Russia - be fired.
What was the stated reason for Comey's firing?  The July statement and the October letter... which Jeff Sessions previously stated Comey had an "absolute duty" to make.

So Comey is fired for taking action that the person who recommended his firing insisted was his absolute duty, and the person who fired him praised repeatedly.  But this has nothing to do with Russia, believe me!

I have also developed a rather serious case of whiplash from the breakneck speed at which apparently every Republican in the country has instantly flipped from "Hillary was a crook who Comey covered for!" to "Well, everyone knows Comey's treatment of her was completely unfair and unprofessional."  It's like the last year has taken place in an alternate timeline.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

For all of you who believe that Trump fired Comey over Clinton, I have a some land to sell you...... It is a beautiful mountain retreat with stunning views of the ocean located in Kansas. 

[DaLittle B]

Anybody who believes Trump fired Comey over the email investigation of Clinton rather than the Russian Trump investigation is either a liar or a fool.

Wait! you can't say that! That would mean...ummmm ....That would be admitting....All those voters .... The whole Benghazi,email,Hillary's a Crook was the Republican Bullshit, all along...and ALL THOSE HILLARY FACEBOOK,and TWITTER Stories were fake! Our Republican Ass backwards bullshit isn't what the MAJORITY of Americans Want...Comrade Orange Asshat,isn't going to make America great? I mean he really is all hair No brains? and lying sack of shit?  GASP!

NEVER!

You can't say that! Not till After I sell my HUGE Ocean front property development,with terrific ocean views all around in Central Nebraska....

 


Darn you Hoodie! you posted before mine! 

[masterfins]

I have also developed a rather serious case of whiplash from the breakneck speed at which apparently every Republican in the country has instantly flipped from "Hillary was a crook who Comey covered for!" to "Well, everyone knows Comey's treatment of her was completely unfair and unprofessional."  It's like the last year has taken place in an alternate timeline.

I've got whiplash from all the Democratic Hillary supporters who called for Comey's firing, and have now done an about face and are aghast that Trump fired him.

[masterfins]

  If it was really that easy all along, why didn't Bill Clinton simply fire Ken Starr?  Hmmm.

It's funny you bring up Bill Clinton, since Bill Clinton was the last President to fire an FBI Director, William Sessions.

[Spider-Dan]

I've got whiplash from all the Democratic Hillary supporters who called for Comey's firing, and have now done an about face and are aghast that Trump fired him.

I've already said Comey deserved to be fired.  But the President shouldn't fire the person leading the investigation into allegations of his own collusion with a foreign power.

There is an easy way to square this circle: it is called the DOJ Office of Special Counsel.  Move the investigation from FBI to OSC and then Trump can fire Comey to resounding bipartisan applause.

But we all know that would be missing the point.  Comey wasn't fired despite his investigation into Trump's Russian ties; he was fired because of it.

[CF DolFan]

If you think Comey is the only person in on the investigation then you have no clue. Whatever "evidence" Coney has the FBI has.

Seriously ... if Trump is in bed with Russia most of us that voted for him would want him impeached. Fortunately just like the hipocrites who have about faced on this firing it just seems like more political propaganda. Comey can still sing and now has even more freedom to do so.

[Spider-Dan]

No one said Comey was "the only person" in on the investigation.  But when you fire the person running it, it sends a very effective message to his subordinates.

Seriously ... if Trump is in bed with Russia most of us that voted for him would want him impeached.

Let's not start writing checks we aren't willing to cash.  Trump voters didn't choose him for his policy positions on Russia; they chose him for Other Reasons, and those reasons are not affected by any deals Trump did or did not make with Russia.  If there is anything we have learned over the last two years, it is that waiting for some magical Last Straw Of Outrage that will finally cause Republicans to ditch Trump is a pipe dream.  As far as Republicans are concerned, the only outrageous thing Trump can ever do is lose.

And once more: there is absolutely no "hypocrisy" or "about face" in the following two statements:

1) Comey overwhelmingly deserved to be fired for his interference in the election, and possibly deserves to be prosecuted for violating the Hatch Act
2) POTUS should not fire the person in charge of an investigation into allegations of his own wrongdoing

The idea that those two things are tied together is a false dilemma.  The very existence of #1 means that Comey should never have been a candidate for #2 in the first place.