Did Comey Break the Law?
James Comey's integrity is now seriously in question - and with just 8 days to go before election day - voters need some answers - fast.
When news broke Friday about Comey's letter to Congress revealing existence of emails that might - just might - have something to do with the Clinton email investigation - everyone immediately assumed the worst.
Here - we all thought - was the October surprise we'd all been waiting for.
But with the vantage of three days of leaks and counter leaks behind us - things look a lot more complicated.
We now know - for example - that the emails in question were not actually to or from Hillary Clinton herself.
They were instead found on Huma Abedin's laptop during an investigation into her husband Anthony Weiner's alleged relationship with a 15-year-old girl.
We also know that the FBI hadn't even looked at these emails when Comey went public with them, and we know that the Justice Department told him NOT to write his now infamous letter to Congress because they didn't want him interfering with the presidential election.
Oh yeah - and we ALSO know that these emails may not even contain any new information - just that they COULD contain new information.
In other words - this is all still very much in the air - which is why almost a hundred former Justice Department officials -- Republican and Democrat alike -- have now condemned Comey's actions as a dangerous breach of protocol.
Senate Majority leader Harry Reid has gone even farther and suggested that the FBI director may have broken the law that bans federal employees from taking part in political activity.
The sympathetic reading of this situation is that Comey just went public with these emails just because he felt like he had a personal and professional obligation to.
He promised Congress he would keep it updated with any new developments in the Clinton case - and on Friday that's exactly what he did.
But again - that's just the sympathetic reading of the situation.
It assumes Comey didn't know what he was doing - which is impossible because the Justice Department told him in very plain English the explicit consequences of what he was doing.
There are two possible scenarios here:
One, Comey either knew he was breaking protocol but didn't DIDN'T think it could throw the election into chaos or Comey knew he was breaching protocol and WANTED to throw the election into chaos.
Either way he should probably lose his job.
Comments
It's ridiculous he (Comey) took that action when there was no reason for doing it unless he is attempting to thrust himself into the final narrative of this election. Another "throwing sand in the eyes" of the low inforation voters who vote against their own interest.
He needs to go.. can we fire the media? Why is no one talking about Trump,the Russians, taxes? The list is endless I am so frustrated by the double standard and mysonginy (?) by the FBI and MSM... where does one go to get relief? I am also with you in this seems to be an issueless campaign when there is so many important issues on the table and so many differences between the canidates I have voted for HRC and Dem down ballot Pls be over and give us HRC
Comey is totally unprofessional and partisan as all hell. Everyone knows it and is trying SO hard not to say it. Why? If Comey has a shread of human decency he will resign. Otherwise he should be fired by whoever has the pwoer to do that.
I believe the phrase is....'you're fired'.
He should lose his job for not indicting Hillary before the Democratic Convention.
Tom, are you really slinging for Hillary, now? I can't tell. If so, it's very disingenuous of you. I hate Trump too, but I hate Hillary even more.
He is covering himself so we do not all suffer from voter remorse if she is elected. The levels of widespread corruption and quid pro quo has been exposed completely now. She IS a crook and the presidency may just be the only way she can avoid prison. We might want to think of that possibility rather than assume there is no solid FBI case against her. Regardless, we should expect oh so much more from a former First Lady and Secretary of State than a reality tv star. This election was the DNC's to lose which they may have just done by running an inferior horse with an almost sociopathic sense of personal destiny. I urge you to read an article in the recent Harper's titled "Swap " as well as this in the guardian. I urge Bernie supporters to consider holding their noses and voting for Trump. He will more than likely be impeached anyway. A lame "Donald" duck presidency,
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/...
A person's reputation os one of the things a citizen has that can be destroyed by the media. Two individuals that happens to not like you, for no cause, can still swear out an accuksation which requres one to got to court to defend ones self. If the mediia announces to the publeic that you have been arrested or that a warrant for some heineous crime has been charged to uyou and yko defend youself, at considerable cost, and then you are declared innocent of the charges, you still have lost your reputation.
I am of the opinion that no information concerning any charge should be published by the media, in any form whatwsoever, until the court case has been settled. Then the media can announce the verdict, contest the judge's action, the prosecution's action, the defense, or the accused, all subject to libel actions. If one is innocent the mere publicastion of the accusation can ruin one's reputation witout cause. This is contrary to the purpose of the condition that the accused is innocent until proved guilty.
Tom is just pulling the old political trick of refocusing the topic of discussion.
Its a deceptive tactic to soften the politcal damage to Hillary, his least of evils choice.
Glad other readers are aware of his agenda and methods.
ct
Come on Thom. It's time to wake up! I was a Dem for 60 yrs. Hillary is corrupt, Bill is corrupt, the Foundation is corrupt, the whole Dem party is corrupt. Blame it on Russia, blame it on the Repubs, blame it on Comey. How many have to be relieved of their duties before you see the light? She should have been indicted the first time; hopefully they'll get her this time! Let's start being honest; you're show is getting putrid!
You got that right!
First Comey gets a ration of caca for letting Hillary slide for doing what others have gone to jail for and now he's getting it from the other side. Maybe he is just trying to do his job.
The largest trophy Comey has to his credit is Martha Stewart. None of his cronies were investigated by him - W, Cheney, Rummy, Condi, Wolfy, Perle, all the big fish slithered away ... War crimes, torture, false intelligence - ignored by him.
22 million missing emails of W... What of them? BTW, emails of 435 representatives and wannabees. Geez, and how many other candidates missing emails, have inditeable deeds exposed in their emails? But we only hear about Hillary. Comey stinks to high heaven and hell. Fire is flunky boot licking you know what.
So far Clinton is as guilty as General Powell in the private server / classified email investigation = Free as a bird.
If you want to look at exactly how to NOT handle classified information, look at the W administration, a model for the ages. Tons of classified information warning of 9-11, always actionalble, and all of it shamefully ignored, shuffled aside, put in the trash, burried, covered up.
Comey needs to release his own emails regarding this scandal. He needs to be investigated far more than Huma's redundant emails need to be looked at. Who pressured him to send that letter to the Teapublicans?
This is all about the Teapublicans holding on to the Senate and keeping the Supreme Court under the control of big money. Comey and whoever else is behind this don't give a crap about Trump...they simply want four more years of gridlock for the Supreme Court. Comey needs to resign.
To me it's just a ploy to get people to THINK the election is going to be close and that there's a real danger of Trump being elected. But in reality privately owned ancient voting machines with proprietary software will be used to put Hillary over the top regardless of how many people vote for Trump. And we know the media will be complicit in this fix like they were in the primary against Bernie Sanders and who knows how many prior elections.
WFUSNATO: WHERE IS YOUR PROOF OR ARE YOU JUST WISHFUL THINKING?
Comey's timing for sending the letter does make his reasons dubious. However, I have come to respect Comey. As such, in his defense, Comey sent a letter to some members of Congress that simply alleged the FBI discovered more information related to Hillary's email scandal. He did not say that she was guilty of anything.
Frankly, we have already been through this scenario before. Any voter swayed to not vote for Hillary because of Comey's letter is of the most gullible variety. If Republican senators feel they can exploit Comey's letter to Trump's advantage, let them have their shot. Comey's letter, even the FBI's decision to release Bill's old Marc Rich records, should not impact voters much. I may be wrong, but it's the the bottom of the 9th. As the expression goes, a player isn't going to change his playing at this point of the game...unless he's super gullible.
I guess I say all of that to say, leave Comey alone. Haha. He's just trying to do what's right. If there's enough evidence showing Comey violated the Hatch Act, then hold him accountable for that. But don't make a spectacle of yourself by suggesting Comey may violated the act, bring formal charges against him.
Huh? You have to be a Trump diehard Trump supporter to believe your fantasy, conspiracy theories. As a Bernie supporter, I will say that the DNC attempted to undermine Bernie's campaign during the primaries. I will also admit that a couple of people, definitely Donna Brazille, tried to help Hillary. However, to say "the media" is to overstate big league the media's involvement. Free Speech Tv is the media, and it did not conspire to undermine Bernie's campaign at all. Just sayin', be more accurate with your assertions.
Clinton has been in the government her entire life. She knew that she had no business putting her email through a private server. We all know that the intent was to hide her emails from FOIA. Her excuse that it was more convenient was total BS.
So Comey’s first mistake was not recommending an indictment. It never would have happened because a once highly respected US Attorney has become nothing more than a racist political hack. But none-the-less that should have been the recommendation.
Maybe his second mistake was his announcement last Friday but all of the blame goes to Clinton herself. She is now demanding that everything be made public immediately, which of course can’t happen and she knows it can’t happen.
None of this would have ever happened had she followed the law to begin with but she also delayed turning over her emails (so many could be deleted) and Ms. Lynch gave unnecessary immunity to some of Clinton's staff further delaying the truth.
The bottom line is that both candidates are dishonest both are unfit to be president and both and their parties represent the decline of America.
That the Justice Department told him not to tell Congress about it "because they didn't want it to interfere with the election" sounds just like what large segments of the public are accusing Hillary and the government and Obama administration of doing, covering up Hillary's crimes to rig the election for her. That was the accusation when the DOJ initially decided not to indict when there was ample reason to.
If Nixon's DOJ would've done the same thing in 1972 - and they tried - the same Hillary apologists would've rightly been up in arms - and they were.
Here's a good video about the Trump phenomenon and how the stupidity and unacknowledged - but very prevalent - class chauvinism of the wine and cheese heads of the left causes them to deservedly lose the blue collar worker. I had a friend from the South who was a military vet of two services and who worked at Meineke Mufflers and listened to Fox News and once said to me, "The Democrats are the party of the rich and the Republicans are the party of the working man."
That the Justice Department told him not to tell Congress about it "because they didn't want it to interfere with the election" sounds just like what large segments of the public are accusing Hillary and the government and Obama administration of doing, covering up Hillary's crimes to rig the election for her. That was the accusation when the DOJ initially decided not to indict when there was ample reason to.
If Nixon's DOJ would've done the same thing in 1972 - and they tried - the same Hillary apologists would've rightly been up in arms - and they were.
Here's a good video about the Trump phenomenon and how the stupidity and unacknowledged - but very prevalent - class chauvinism of the wine and cheese heads of the left causes them to deservedly lose the blue collar worker. I had a friend from the South who was a military vet of two services and who worked at Meineke Mufflers and listened to Fox News and once said to me, "The Democrats are the party of the rich and the Republicans are the party of the working man."
My friend respected Bernie but preferred Trump. He said, "People don't realize but there are some good things about socialism.".
How many of Bush, Cheney, Rice or Powell emails have been released. None, they were all destroyed. 4 dead in Benghazi. 3500 dead in NY, Thousands dead in Afghanistan, probably a million in Iraq, and Trillions in damages. I cannot believe what the media does with Benghazi (where the email issue started) and Trumps crimes and non release of taxes. The media is just as guilty as Comey for influencing this election. The worst part of all is what happens if we get Trump as POTUS.
We all have a right to know the truth. Revealing the truth does not "rig" an election but suppressing truth does.
Anyway, low ranking U.S. Marines and other military, intelligence and diplomatic personnel have been prosecuted, convicted and jailed for much less than what Hillary did.
Mark, Do you know the truth now? No, you know next to nothing. Do you know the truth about Trump? What about Bush and the weapons of mass destruction? Did you get the truth? He said they were reopening the investigation yet did not even have a warrent. That opened the door for Trump to say any lie he wanted because nobody can disprove it. The truth is a long way off. He could have told Congress in a classified letter that he was reopening the case. Should the IRS come out and say that they are launching an investigation into Trumps taxes right before the election? Are you aware that Trump has criminal trials coming up? Not investigations, trials for rape and Trunp University fraud.
I know much about Hillary and Bush and can surmise about Trump. Hillary is a smarter, slicker Bush.
Hillary won't be prosecuted for anything, all investigations against her are quashed.
Here's one for you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLCAmff_iy0
Clinton Foundation.
BTW, I tried to post the first above video on a member blog, which I haven't in a while, and it seems that all member blog posts have to be approved by a site administrator now so no critiques of Hillary could possibly get through.
Ah, the well known totalitarianism of the left. Those babies can't be brought outside their comfort zones for an instant! I swear, THEY are the real victims in this world! Should've stayed in their mothers' wombs.
When Dubya's ethics lawyer is requesting the investigation into comey, how any one can defend Comey is beyond me. This is not because Comey is picking on the left; not when a member of the far right (actually just a deeply entrenched republican) is asking for the investigation. Karl Smiley, do you know what a false equivalency is?
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I worked for a county in CA for 23 years and the rules for us were very explicit. While we were at work or representing the county (at a public meeting for example) we were forbidden to take a position that could even be remotely construed as support or non support of any candidate running for or occupying any public office. It was considered to be a fireable offense. In view of the memo that Comey sent out to his staff after the public announcement, it seems clear that he already was aware that his statement was problematic. He has undermined his credibility as well as that of the FBI and he should resign or be asked to leave.