Wednesday, May 03, 2017

James Comey claims that he is made "mildly nauseous" by the idea that he may have affected the outcome of the 2016 election.

Courtesy of the New York Times:  

Mr. Comey said he went public on Oct. 28 because he believed that the emails found by his agents might provide insight into Mrs. Clinton’s reasons for using a private server as secretary of state and might change the outcome of the investigation. Failing to inform Congress, Mr. Comey said, would have a required an “act of concealment.” 

“Concealment, in my view, would have been catastrophic,” he said, adding later that he knew the decision would be “disastrous for me personally.” 

What Mr. Comey viewed as concealing, Justice Department officials viewed simply as following the rules. The F.B.I. does not normally confirm ongoing investigations. Senior Justice Department officials urged him not to send a letter to Congress informing them that the bureau was examining the new emails.

I have to say that I was made more than just mildly nauseous by Comey's contention that he only had two choices before him, and that he made the one that he believed would NOT be "catastrophic."

In my opinion the truth is just the exact opposite, and that if Hillary had won, and it had been revealed that Comey kept quiet about any new evidence, it would only have added more fodder for the investigations that the Republicans were already preparing to launch once she was in the White House.

In the end it would only have resulted in some Republicans bitching about Comey on Twitter and then calling him to endlessly testify before Congress about what he learned, which they would have done if Clinton won no matter what he had said, or not said, before the election. 

After listening to Comey's testimony I came away with the sense that he has really worked hard to convince himself that he had no choice in going public, but that at some level he realizes that he fucked up.

Here was another exchange, this time with Senator Al Franken, discussing the importance of looking into Trump's financial records and tax returns to help understand why Putin chose to help him win the election.

Courtesy of Raw Story: 

The Minnesota Democrat laid out business relationships between Trump, his White House staff, cabinet officials, campaign advisers and Russia, and he asked whether FBI investigators had access to the president’s tax returns. 

Comey declined to say whether investigators had viewed Trump’s taxes, but he agreed that had Russia in the past exploited financial arrangements to influence politics abroad. 

“I hope people don’t over-interpret my answers, but I don’t want to start talking about anything — what we’re looking at and how,” Comey said. 

He agreed that intelligence agencies believed Russia had a clear preference for Trump, which he said was based in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s dislike for Hillary Clinton. 

“The intelligence community assessed that Putin believed he would be more able to make deals, reach agreements with someone with a business background rather than someone who had grown up in more of a government environment,” Comey said. 

He declined to say whether investigators believed Trump was vulnerable to manipulation through his business contacts with Russians, including the oligarch who purchased a Palm Beach, Florida, mansion from him a decade ago.

I thought that Franken's questions were some of the best of the hearing, and I thought that he probably touched on many of the things that the FBI are likely looking into concerning possible collusion between the Trump team and the Russians.

Other things we learned, or had reinforced, during the testimony:
  • That the "thousands of emails" which were on Anthony Weiner's laptop were there because Huma Abedin sent them there to be printed off so that Hillary could review the hard copies later. 
  • That initially Comey thought these might be some of mysterious "missing" 30,000 e-mails that the Republicans had made a cause celeb during their numerous investigations into Clinton. 
  • The investigation into the ties between the Trump campaign and Russia is still ongoing.
  • Comey said that journalists who receive classified information are not criminals, but that the folks who send them that information might be.
  • Comey does not consider what Wikileaks does as legitimate journalism, and claimed they traffic in "intelligence porn."
  • That the Russians are STILL interfering in American politics, and in European politics as well. 
  • And Comey says that they are "the greatest threat of any nation on earth."
My take away from this hearing was that Comey is simply covering his own ass, that he was more afraid of his own agents than he was of the consequences of his interference, and that currently he is very serious about investigating Trump's ties to Russia.

That sounds like very good news for us, and not so good news for a certain tangerine colored tyrannical toddler.

21 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:14 PM

    While you're on the subject of the tyrannical toddler, does anyone else think it odd that none of those on the Right, who want to deify the Constitution and the Founding Fathers, has said anything about this remark?

    "During an interview with Fox News to discuss his first 100 days as president, Trump denounced the constitutional system of checks and balances as “archaic.”

    “It’s a very rough system. It’s an archaic system,” Trump said. “It’s really a bad thing for the country.”

    Meanwhile, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus told ABC on Sunday that the president is thinking about amending or even abolishing the First Amendment to stifle what they consider to be unfair media criticism. When asked by Jonathan Karl whether they had considered a constitutional amendment so that the president can sue his critics, Priebus responded: “I think it’s something that we’ve looked at. How that gets executed or whether that goes anywhere is a different story.”

    But when it's pointed out to the 2nd Amendmentworshippers (who think it's the 11th Commandment - like Stoopid $arah,) that when it was written, the idea of "arms" was an archaic muzzle loader, and we might want to interpret it a bit more selectively, like, hey, 18 round Glocks might want a bit of restricting there... they go apeshit.

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    1. Anonymous3:43 AM

      Add to that Sessions' statement that there is no separation of church and state in the Constitution. What planet are these GOP nincompoops from? It certainly isn't Planet Earth. And why have they been wrapping themselves up in patriotism and the flag for all these decades when they abhor what both stand for, our Constitution?
      Beaglemom

      Delete
  2. Anonymous2:17 PM

    I think he's just trying to cover his ass now that the Trump presidency is visibly imploding. Comey can go fuck himself. He is directly responsible for what clearly be the downfall of a once great country.

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  3. Anonymous2:23 PM

    Why, oh why, can't the nattering about Hillary Clinton's emails from years ago is still a subject to be discussed? Isn't the elephant in the hearing room the collusion between Trump's GOP and the Russians? Isn't that the subject under discussion?
    Beaglemom

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    1. Anonymous2:46 PM

      "he Bush Administration admitted that in reviewing documents requested by Democrats for their investigations, it discovered that as many as 50 of its staffers may have violated the Presidential Records Act. The staffers, the White House said, were using e-mail accounts, laptops and BlackBerries provided by the Republican National Committee for official executive branch communications rather than the exclusively political work for which they were intended. Because the RNC had a policy until 2004 of erasing all e-mails on its servers after 30 days, including those by White House staffers, and because some of those staffers may have deleted e-mails on their own, the White House said it could not assure Congress that they have not violated the PRA, which requires the retention of official White House documents. The White House officials who may have broken the law include senior adviser Karl Rove, his deputies and much of their staffs."Bush aides were found in contempt of Congress for not complying with subpoenas in the U.S. attorney firings investigation, but no punishment was handed down."

      22MILLION!

      Delete
  4. Anonymous2:25 PM

    Adam Schiff Just Torched James Comey And Exposed The Lies Behind His Trump/Russia Silence

    Ranking House Intelligence Committee member Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) tore apart James Comey's reasoning for talking about the Clinton email investigation while not discussing the Trump/Russia investigation and exposed the dubious reasoning and false rationale behind Comey's statements.…

    Comey’s Justification for Revealing the Clinton Email Investigation Makes Zero Sense

    Why would concealing Clinton probe be "death of FBI" according to Comey, but concealing probe into Trump and a hostile foreign govt is not?…

    Susan Rice Just Obliterated The GOP Attempt To Blame Obama For The Russia Scandal

    Former Obama senior adviser Susan Rice notified Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that she won't be testifying in front of the Senate as part of the Russia investigation. By not testifying, Rice destroyed the Republican hopes of distracting from Trump's potential crimes by blaming the Obama administration.…

    http://www.politicususa.com/

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    1. Anonymous3:40 AM

      I thought Rice's letter to Miss Lindsay was brilliant.
      Beaglemom

      Delete
  5. Anonymous2:28 PM

    In short, according to Comey, Putin wanted vengeance against Clinton for being tough on him and Trump was the way to do it.

    It also ties into Comey’s second conclusion: Russia figured Trump, ignorant as he is, would be much easier to pull one over on.

    http://addictinginfo.com/2017/05/03/comey-just-laid-out-the-two-reasons-putin-supported-trump-over-clinton-and-both-are-damning-video/

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous2:30 PM

    Ted Cruz tries to derail FBI testimony on Trump/Russia by dredging up old discredited IRS "scandal"

    http://shareblue.com/ted-cruz-tries-to-derail-fbi-testimony-on-trumprussia-by-dredging-up-old-discredited-irs-scandal/

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  7. Anonymous2:33 PM

    “prepared to assist Congressional inquiries into Russian election interference because of the important national interests at stake, provided they are conducted in a bipartisan manner, and, as appropriate, in classified session.”

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/susan-rice-wont-testify-senate-hearing-russia

    http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/gop-sen-grassley-throws-a-fit-after-comey-refuses-to-reveal-classified-information-in-open-hearing/

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    1. Console your ire with Grassley in knowing that shortly after he arrived on Capitol Hill, he was voted the "dimmest bulb in the room."
      He removes all doubt when his mouth is moving.
      Just another "Get off my lawn pissed off old geezer........"

      Delete
  8. Anonymous3:50 PM

    CNN going after palmerreport.com once again. Palmer did not take the bait.

    CNN is shooting themselves in the foot with their right wing bozos obstructing their programs with ongoing bullshit.

    Have to ask what CNN's future is if they continue this way? I never listen to them anymore.

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    1. Anonymous7:15 PM

      Lol. you just stick with your Bill Palmerreport there 3:50. Should serve you well. Bill did have the great idea to put 'report' after his last name, instant journalist.

      Delete
    2. I will take my Bill Palmer report over your misspelled and punctuated comment anytime.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous4:54 PM

    His "mildly nauseous" comment sounded more facetious than it did sincere, if you ask me. Which no one did.

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  10. Only mildly?

    That's not going to do it, Comey. So not contrite enough.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous8:44 PM

    "Chaffetz and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the sponsor of the companion Senate bill, say they will re-introduce the Presidential Allowance Modernization Act this month."

    http://www.politicususa.com/2017/05/03/wall-street-owned-gop-threatening-obamas-pension-400k-speech.html

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    1. That won't get far.

      They can't target Obama and not Carter, Bush I, Bush II and Clinton.

      I'm sure Donald won't want his "pension" taken from him either.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous10:41 PM

    I want to know who Comey's speech writer is. Obviously, Comey practiced this delivery many times before his debut. Pathetic. He makes he want to vomit.

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  13. Anonymous10:42 PM

    Comey makes me more than nauseous.

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  14. Anonymous3:38 AM

    "Mild" nausea, gee, I do feel sorry for him. His help in putting Trump in the White House has taken years from my life and from the lives of many other Americans who dread opening the newspaper in the morning to see what outrageous acts and statements the president of the United States, that puppet of Putin, has done or said. It's a lot worse than being "mildly nauseous." Thanks a lot, Mr. Comey.
    Beaglemom

    ReplyDelete

Don't feed the trolls!
It just goes directly to their thighs.