Wednesday, June 07, 2017

James Comey's opening remarks are released a day before he testifies.

Here is a link to the entire document.

In it Comey describes not one, not two, but nine different conversations with Donald Trump after the election.  (Comey only had two conversations with President Obama while serving during his administration.)

The first meeting was on January 6, 2017, and it was an intelligence briefing in Trump Tower, with other Intelligence leaders present.

Here is the interesting portion: 

In that context, prior to the January 6 meeting, I discussed with the FBI’s leadership team whether I should be prepared to assure President-Elect Trump that we were not investigating him personally. That was true; we did not have an open counter-intelligence case on him. We agreed I should do so if circumstances warranted. During our one-on-one meeting at Trump Tower, based on President-Elect Trump’s reaction to the briefing and without him directly asking the question, I offered that assurance. 

I felt compelled to document my first conversation with the President-Elect in a memo. To ensure accuracy, I began to type it on a laptop in an FBI vehicle outside Trump Tower the moment I walked out of the meeting. Creating written records immediately after one-on-one conversations with Mr. Trump was my practice from that point forward. This had not been my practice in the past. I spoke alone with President Obama twice in person (and never on the phone) – once in 2015 to discuss law enforcement policy issues and a second time, briefly, for him to say goodbye in late 2016. In neither of those circumstances did I memorialize the discussions. I can recall nine one-on-one conversations with President Trump in four months – three in person and six on the phone.

Interesting to note that not only did Comey feel it necessary to write down what happened in this meeting even before he arrived at his destination, but also that they decided this was going to be his policy moving forward.

Also of interest is that Comey did indeed tell Trump he was not the subject of the investigation.

At that time.

The next meeting Comey writes about happened over dinner on January 27, and it was just the two of them: 

The President began by asking me whether I wanted to stay on as FBI Director, which I found strange because he had already told me twice in earlier conversations that he hoped I would stay, and I had assured him that I intended to. He said that lots of people wanted my job and, given the abuse I had taken during the previous year, he would understand if I wanted to walk away. 

My instincts told me that the one-on-one setting, and the pretense that this was our first discussion about my position, meant the dinner was, at least in part, an effort to have me ask for my job and create some sort of patronage relationship. That concerned me greatly, given the FBI’s traditionally independent status in the executive branch. 

I replied that I loved my work and intended to stay and serve out my ten-year term as Director. And then, because the set-up made me uneasy, I added that I was not “reliable” in the way politicians use that word, but he could always count on me to tell him the truth. I added that I was not on anybody’s side politically and could not be counted on in the traditional political sense, a stance I said was in his best interest as the President. 

A few moments later, the President said, “I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.” I didn’t move, speak, or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed. We simply looked at each other in silence. The conversation then moved on, but he returned to the subject near the end of our dinner.

........

Near the end of our dinner, the President returned to the subject of my job, saying he was very glad I wanted to stay, adding that he had heard great things. about me from Jim Mattis, Jeff Sessions, and many others. He then said, “I need loyalty.” I replied, “You will always get honesty from me.” He paused and then said, “That’s what I want, honest loyalty.” I paused, and then said, “You will get that from me.” As I wrote in the memo I created immediately after the dinner, it is possible we understood the phrase “honest loyalty” differently, but I decided it wouldn’t be productive to push it further. The term – honest loyalty – had helped end a very awkward conversation and my explanations had made clear what he should expect.

Comey also notes that Trump discussed the "salacious materiel" contained in that Russian dossier and denied that any of it was true.

Next meeting, February 14, in the Oval Office.

There were others present, but after the meeting Trump sent all of them away so that he could talk to Comey privately: 

The President then made a long series of comments about the problem with leaks of classified information – a concern I shared and still share. After he had spoken for a few minutes about leaks, Reince Priebus leaned in through the door by the grandfather clock and I could see a group of people waiting behind him. 

The President waved at him to close the door, saying he would be done shortly. The door closed. The President then returned to the topic of Mike Flynn, saying, “He is a good guy and has been through a lot.” He repeated that Flynn hadn’t done anything wrong on his calls with the Russians, but had misled the Vice President. He then said, “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.” I replied only that “he is a good guy.” (In fact, I had a positive experience dealing with Mike Flynn when he was a colleague as Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency at the beginning of my term at FBI.) I did not say I would “let this go.”

So that is where Trump directly asked Comey to drop the investigation into Michael Flynn.

That is obstructionism, and by Trump asking the others to leave is an indication that he knew what he was doing was wrong.

March 30, phone call:

On the morning of March 30, the President called me at the FBI. He described the Russia investigation as “a cloud” that was impairing his ability to act on behalf of the country. He said he had nothing to do with Russia, had not been involved with hookers in Russia, and had always assumed he was being recorded when in Russia. He asked what we could do to “lift the cloud.” I responded that we were investigating the matter as quickly as we could, and that there would be great benefit, if we didn’t find anything, to our having done the work well. He agreed, but then re-emphasized the problems this was causing him.

Trump expressed concern about the congressional hearing about Russia the week before,  suggested that there may be some "satellite" associates of his that had done wrong but he was innocent, and complained that this "cloud" was interfering with his ability to get anything done for the country.

Comey only writes about one more of his nine conversations with Trump, this time another phone call on April 11, about a month before Comey was fired: 

On the morning of April 11, the President called me and asked what I had done about his request that I “get out” that he is not personally under investigation. I replied that I had passed his request to the Acting Deputy Attorney General, but I had not heard back. He replied that “the cloud” was getting in the way of his ability to do his job. He said that perhaps he would have his people reach out to the Acting Deputy Attorney General. I said that was the way his request should be handled. I said the White House Counsel should contact the leadership of DOJ to make the request, which was the traditional channel. 

He said he would do that and added, “Because I have been very loyal to you, very loyal; we had that thing you know.” I did not reply or ask him what he meant by “that thing.” I said only that the way to handle it was to have the White House Counsel call the Acting Deputy Attorney General. He said that was what he would do and the call ended.

"I have been very loyal to you, very loyal; we had that thing you know."

I wonder what in the hell he meant by that?

Does it mean that he thought he and Comey were both working for Putin?

Well whatever he meant, this is a very damning opening statement, and I imagine that it will inspire ALL kinds of follow up questions that are very likely to inspire quite a Twitter tirade from the Orange Fuhrer.

47 comments:

  1. Whomp, whomp Comey just got thrown under the bus. Screech, vroom and whomp. whomp Drumpf just backed the bus over Comey some more.

    I'd bet a nickel Drumpf will call Comey a liar before midnight tonight.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Everyone is a liar except Drumpf. That's what he believed.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous2:07 PM

      I read somewhere that he was going to live tweet during the hearing, which is great since he will probably incriminate himself. I bet his staff are trying to figure out how to steal his phone or block his account

      Delete
    3. Anonymous7:11 PM

      The more he smears Comey, the guiltier he looks.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous1:35 PM

    "A mere hour after that testimony dropped, Pence abruptly cancelled his scheduled interview, according to producer Sara Just. As the Hill reports, PBS correspondent Miles O’Brien was already on location at Johnson Space Center to speak with the birthday boy."666pence

    http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/infrastructure-week-is-going-well-huh-pence-abruptly-cancels-interview-after-comeys-testimony-drops/

    http://thehill.com/homenews/media/336793-pence-cancels-interview-with-pbs

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:04 PM

      Wait, pence was supposed to do an interview at NASA with Miles O'Brien? Was Benjamin Sisko not available?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous2:10 PM

      I think he had an emergency meeting with an interior decorator on what kind of drapes he preferred for the Oval Office

      Delete
    3. 2:04! Awesome reference!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous3:23 PM

      Infrastructure Week is giving h8TRZ a Yooge Erection.

      So Yooge is like "topping out" the Vehicle Assembly Building!!

      Delete
    5. Anonymous3:24 PM

      >>>I think he had an emergency meeting with an interior decorator on what kind of drapes he preferred for the Oval Office<<<

      Joe Miller needs to tell tRUMP "It Ain't Over Until it's OVER!"

      Delete
  3. Anonymous1:56 PM

    "I have been very loyal to you, very loyal; we had that thing you know."

    Sounds like dialogue from the "Goodfellas" movie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:59 PM

      Dude has bought a lot of concrete in the NYC you know!

      http://billmoyers.com/story/donald-trump-story-youre-not-hearing/


      Delete
    2. Anonymous7:10 PM

      It will go down in history like another infamous saying:

      ”I am not a crook”

      Richard M. Nixon

      Delete
  4. Anonymous2:20 PM

    James Comey reveals concerns about Trump in devastating account to Congress

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/07/james-comey-trump-congress-statement

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous2:21 PM

    Neil Cavuto on Blowback for Criticizing Trump Tweets: ‘What Is Fake Is When You Stop Being Real’

    http://www.mediaite.com/tv/neil-cavuto-on-blowback-for-criticizing-trump-tweets-what-is-fake-is-when-you-stop-being-real/

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous2:23 PM

    EU Will Ignore White House And Work Directly With US States On Paris Agreement

    http://www.iflscience.com/environment/eu-ignore-white-house-work-directly-states-paris-agreement/

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous2:26 PM

    James Comey just went nuclear on Donald Trump

    http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/07/politics/comey-testimony/index.html

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous2:27 PM

    O/T Any chance the Brits will vote May out tomorrow? Would it help get rid of her if they realized they could then rescind the invite she gave Drumpf? Inappropriate for her to have done it in the first place.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:39 PM

      Trump would get a very cold reception should he actually go over there! Hopefully, he won't and embarrass himself as well as our country!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous8:25 PM

      IF tRump goes over there, I hope, he gets the same 'warm welcome' that Tillerson got in New Zealand! BWAHAHAHAHA!

      Delete
  9. Anonymous2:27 PM


    3 senior FBI officials can vouch for Comey’s story about Trump

    Sources: McCabe, Rybicki, and Baker could corroborate the ex-director’s claims that the president asked him to back off investigating Michael Flynn.

    https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/6/7/15751336/fbi-trump-russia-comey-trump-flynn

    ReplyDelete
  10. "Comey only had two conversations with President Obama while serving during his administration." And one of those was a farewell meeting as Obama was leaving office, so only one meeting about anything work related.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:38 PM

      And, Comey never felt he had to worry about President Obama where he did The Donald. Two completely different men - one loving, kind, a good leader with no baggage (which the Republicans tried for years to find on him and didn't!) and the other, The Donald, who is a proven liar, fraud, multiple marriages with a horrid history/record in business.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous2:41 PM

    James Comey will introduce the words “hookers in Russia” to the congressional record.

    https://newrepublic.com/minutes/143177/james-comey-will-introduce-words-hookers-russia-congressional-record

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:46 PM

      Comey said Trump's shirt was wet and smelled like urine when Trump asked him to tell everyone the Russian hooker story was fake.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous2:52 PM

    Comey’s official opening statement, which is seven full pages long, includes the following paragraph which reads like a rejected script from a darkly humorous sitcom:

    'On the morning of March 30, the President called me at the FBI. He described the Russia investigation as “a cloud” that was impairing his ability to act on behalf of the country. He said he had nothing to do with Russia, had not been involved with hookers in Russia, and had always assumed he was being recorded when in Russia. He asked what we could do to “lift the cloud.” I responded that we were investigating the matter as quickly as we could, and that there would be great benefit, if we didn’t find anything, to our having done the work well. He agreed, but then re-emphasized the problems this was causing him.'

    This means that one day out of the blue, Trump called up Comey on the phone to insist that he wasn’t involved with involved with hookers in Russia. And these are Comey’s own words. It reveals a new level of bizarreness to an already surreal Trump-Russia scandal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:35 PM

      Didn't I read sometime awhile back that they (Russians) have video of Trump in bed w/a gal (IN Russia) and peeing on the bed - or is that just my imagination?

      I could see The Donald doing both. He's such an idiot and horrible potus. I hope they move this investigation along quickly and impeach his sorry fat ass!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous8:27 PM

      3:35: That was in That Dossier from the British Secret Service...

      Delete
  13. Anonymous2:55 PM

    The United States federal government announced today that it has arrested dozens of members of a Russian crime syndicate for a long list of alleged crimes. This raises the inevitable question of whether these arrests relate to the FBI’s ongoing and broadening investigation into Donald Trump’s Russian connections and financial dealings. There’s one clue in the press release that may provide insight.

    http://www.palmerreport.com/politics/feds-arrest-russian-mobsters/3360/

    After James Comey’s damning testimony about Donald Trump leaks, Mike Pence hits the panic button

    http://www.palmerreport.com/opinion/comey-pence-button/3361/

    James Comey just leaked his own testimony. Now watch Donald Trump panic and incriminate himself.

    We’ve already heard word this week that Donald Trump plans to watch James Comey’s testimony tomorrow and live-tweet his own rebuttals. One can envision Trump’s staff physically trying to keep his phone out of his hand tomorrow so he can’t tweet anything that could end up incriminating himself. But now Comey has gone and baited Trump by putting his testimony out there today.

    http://www.palmerreport.com/opinion/comey-leaked-trump-panic/3359/

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous3:26 PM

    Trump, furious and frustrated, gears up to punch back at Comey testimony

    Alone in the White House in recent days, President Trump — frustrated and defiant — has been spoiling for a fight, according to his confidants and associates.

    Glued even more than usual to the cable news shows that blare from the televisions in his private living quarters, or from the 60-inch flat screen he had installed in his cramped study off the Oval Office, he has fumed about “fake news.” Trump has seethed as his agenda has stalled in Congress and the courts. He has chafed against the pleas for caution from his lawyers and political advisers, tweeting whatever he wants, whenever he wants.

    And on Thursday, the president will come screen-to-screen with the FBI director he fired, James B. Comey, thoughts of whom have consumed, haunted and antagonized Trump since Comey launched an expanding Russia investigation that the president slammed as a “witch hunt.”

    Comey’s testimony is a political Super Bowl — with television networks interrupting regular programming to air it, and some Washington offices and bars making plans for special viewings.

    Trump is keen to be a participant rather than just another viewer, two senior White House officials said, including the possibility of taking to Twitter to offer acerbic commentary during the hearing.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-furious-and-frustrated-will-join-allies-in-attacking-comey-testimony/2017/06/06/171e6d00-4acf-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bitch PLEAZE4:00 PM

      Trump is keen to be a participant rather than just another viewer, two senior White House officials said, including the possibility of taking to Twitter to offer acerbic commentary during the hearing.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous3:29 PM

    Why the latest Russia news paints an increasingly grim picture for Trump

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/06/07/why-the-latest-russia-news-paints-an-increasingly-grim-picture-for-trump

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous3:45 PM

    It Is Time for Donald Trump to Leave the White House

    http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a55514/end-of-trump-presidency/

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous3:58 PM

    Donald Trump will do whatever it takes to distract you from the Comey hearing

    Manipulating media coverage -- and perceptions about him more generally -- is in Trump's DNA. It's who he is. It's what he does. Hence, the Wray nomination on the verge of what almost certainly will be one of the roughest two-day patches of his presidency to date.

    http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/07/politics/trump-christopher-wray-fbi/index.html

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous4:02 PM

    Poll: Trump's approval rating dips to 34%

    http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/07/politics/donald-trump-approval-rating-quinnipiac/index.html

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous4:11 PM

    Yep, that tiny.

    http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/59385e91b1bd56e1038b4c67-1575/rtx38lkb.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous4:16 PM

    Twitter users are having a field day hilariously editing Comey's prepared remarks for Congress

    http://www.businessinsider.com/comey-testimony-prepared-remarks-jokes-twitter-memes-2017-6

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous4:17 PM

    I used to work at Breitbart. Here’s why I think they fired that reporter over a tweet.

    It’s all about protecting Bannon.

    https://www.vox.com/first-person/2017/6/7/15758376/kurt-bardella-breitbart-bannon-trump

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous5:39 PM

    I NEED LOYALTY!! I EXPECT LOYALTY!!
    - Comrade trump

    FUCK YOU!

    Those students at trump university expected your loyalty from you and university. Did they get their trump loyalty?

    OH YEAH, I forgot about adding trump university to your running list of failures.

    Your trump university scam is something you can add to your resume of scams and failures, along with your failed accomplishment of trying to stop the RUSSIAN TRUMP investigation.

    #SeeYouAtYourImpeachmentTrialBitch

    Will we be seeing the Mrs at your trials?

    NO!

    Didn't think so.

    Dasvidanya putin's puppet

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:05 PM

      Sorry, the Mrs can't make it to the impeachment trials. The Mrs will be entertaining in Melania Tower, formerly known as Trump Tower

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6:07 PM

      Stand by your man is true if the woman got the man's loyalty. Now it is time to stand on her own

      Delete
  23. Anonymous7:07 PM

    He said he had nothing to do with Russia, had not been involved with hookers in Russia, and had always assumed he was being recorded when in Russia
    =======================
    This statement contradicts itself, if he has nothing to do with Russia, why would he assume he was being recorded when IN Russia, isn’t that having to do something with russia?

    I have always believed Donald J. Trump was guilty, but Comey’s statements reinforce my belief that little donnie colluded with the russians to win the election.

    The premise for the original investigation was: did the russians meddle in our elections?

    Not once did Donald Trump state that it was important to find out the truth. From the very beginning he was always ranting it is FAKE news, it is hoax by the “poor losers Democrats” blah blah blah. He protests too much. Blames and throws everyone under the bus by smearing them personally.

    Never once as president of the USA did he say we need the truth because a foreign enemy is threatening our democracy. No, it is all about him because he is guilty!!!

    His conversations with Comey are NOT that of an innocent man, he is guilty and so are his campaign people, his family and the others around him. His actions and tweets are not that of an innocent man.

    I don’t give a damn what his supporters say, they are in the minority, little donnie is a con artist, a crook, a pathological liar, a sociopath and a traitor!! He is not qualified and lacks the demeanor of a president.

    He does not care about the best interest of our country; he is not loyal to our country. He wouldn’t know what the Constitution says even if someone read it to him and he certainly doesn’t understand our government, how it works and how it is suppose to uplift it citizens, not drag them down.

    His only priority is himself, his ego and making money by screwing the American public.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Knucklehead Smiff8:05 PM

    Dont forget Hillary's private email server and the Whitewater Land Deal!!!!

    They should investigate Tea Pot Dome before a witch hunt against our Greatest Ever Currently Serving President In History!!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous11:12 PM

    http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-na-pol-comey-testimony-guide/

    ReplyDelete
  26. Did Trump commit an impeachable offense?

    Yes.

    Will anything come of it?

    No.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous5:30 AM

      Bingo mlaiuppa, I believe Jack Shit is going to come from this. We are stuck with the ORANGE ANUS for better or worse.

      Delete
    2. WA Skeptic8:14 AM

      For gawd's sake, don't unleash Pence on us; he's a stealth nightmare of religious intolerance. I'll settle for keeping Trump bottled up and his groupies (Bannon, Sessions, etc.) in jail for treason and sedition.

      Delete

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