First the Russians - eek - And Now This! Poor Comey.
First the Russians - eek - And Now This! Poor Comey.
So Comey is fired. So, what?
I have not seen this level of blatant melodrama on display in DC since…well, since the Russians “interfered” with our elections. The hypocrisy run so deep and wide you could dam the Mississippi River with it. Let me school you on some facts here. There is, amongst all the wailing and the gnashing of teeth tonight, actual talk of the impact this decision will have on the investigation into the Russian dealings with BOTH PARTIES in the run-up to the election. One hack on FOX told Bret Baier this evening that the investigation into the Russian “meddling” is the most important national security event in the history of the country. So marks the intellectual integrity on display on Capitol Hill.
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In 2016, the Russia engaged in the time-honored tradition of trying to affect a favorable outcome to elections in another country. To be certain they did even more of it in France before last Sunday. As do we. In fact, Russian “meddling” to whatever extent it occurred, was nowhere near as vitriolic, immature and ham-handed as Barry Obama’s was in trying to sway Israeli elections. Obama and fellow Dems followed this with pouting and petulance after Netanyahu won anyway. BHO spent the remainder of his term, especially the last 60 days, creating as much difficulty as he could for an ally. And we’re mad a Russia for trying to kiss up to our candidates? Yeah, I have the throw the bullshit flag on that one. When they were caught, they denied interfering in Israeli election and then spent the next several month explaining why they did it.
It's called nations working in their own best interest.
Even the most half-assed nations across the globe work very hard to see a candidate they favor end up in the halls of power, especially among the stronger governments. Russia and China tend to be poor pickin’s because they are wholly corrupt, totalitarian states. What “elections” there are, aren’t worth “meddling” in. That said, the Russian investigation will continue. It is too convenient a hiding place for congressmen who don’t want to actually engage in the peoples’ business. So, saying the firing of James Comey had anything to do with this investigation is specious and beneath consideration.
As for the firing itself…
…the new-found certainty on the part of Republicans is amusing. As is the new-found adoration the Dems have for Comey. The Republicans were starting to call for Comey to be fired back in may of ’16. But then the Clinton investigation seemed to get legs so they loved Comey. Then Comey appointed himself Attorney
James Comey/Washington Tim General and decided the most open-and-shut case for the mishandling of government documents was un-prosecutable. The Republican hated him again. In October, Comey re-opened the investigation into what did turn out to be the most egregious aspect of the Clinton mess. Huma Abedin intentionally sent sensitive documents to her husbands computer. Once again the Republicans were in love with James Comey. What a swell guy! Then Comey, once again decided publicly that there was no crime to be prosecuted. And once again, the GOP felt like the jilted lover. For their part the Democrats despised and celebrated Comey proportionately opposite to whatever the GOP was doing. During one of the anti-Comey moments on the Democratic see-saw, Chuck Schumer declared that James Comey no longer had the confidence of Congress or the citizens and needed to be removed. Now, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein releases an assessment , based on exactly the same reasons and the exact same incident and Chuck is pretending to be upset at Comey’s firing. It is all such a silly show. At least one CONSERVATIVE, through it all, maintained that Comey was a problem and needed to go, never having let go of that position. That conservative would be yours truly.
Deputy Attorney General, Rod Rosenstein To understand why, you should read the letter sent to President Trump by his Deputy Attorney General, Rod J. Rosenstein. The letter explains how Comey not only worked above his pay grade in his public pronouncements of the Clinton scandal, but that he acted irrationally and against extremely important policies. Most importantly, in the process of “clearing” Hillary Clinton of criminal wrong-doing, he went on to list derogatory behavior, by her and others, for public consumption. While a trial or eventual release of reports on the whole affair would have been damaging to whatever was left of Clinton’s reputation, it is certainly not the job of the FBI director to point that out in a public speech. The only thing we should have heard from Comey in July was that he had passed his investigation along to a Deputy Attorney General and would await the decision of the Justice Department just like everyone else. But Comey saw too great an opportunity to gain the limelight. He simply couldn’t stay professional. He has come out with many explanations since, defending his poor performance in the summer and fall of 2016. It is this constant excuse-making that convinced DAG Rosenstein that Comey was not reliable and may at some point in the future put the integrity of the Justice Department or FBI at risk. Rosenstein is a refreshing change after our last two self-serving, scofflaw Attorneys General.
And Trump doesn't Help His Cause!
The creepy, near admission of some kind of guilt by Trump in his letter to Comey is, even by Trumps standards, mystifying. It also shows that Trump's people are either blindly loyal or just as weird as he is. Either way, Trump is ill-served. Trump tells the man he is firing how glad he is that Comey told him three times that he was not the target of investigation. If this is true, and there is no reason to doubt it unless you view it with an anti-Trump agenda, you don't say such things in the firing letter! Knowing the question will be asked, you take that opportunity to bend the narrative your way. Something like, "Of course this dismissal has nothing to do with an investigations. They will continue. But based on all evidence, it is ludicrous to even intimate that the President was involved with any Russian meddling. Hell, even Comey disqualified President Trump as a target of his investigation ON THREE OCCASIONS!" But you don't invite suspicion by saying something an 8-year-old would say in that situation - and putting it in the pink slip! This part of the affair further demonstrates one of my chief concerns about Trump. Where succeeding as a leader is a game of chess, Trump can't seem to hold his own in a game of checkers. Those who would see him undone, nationally and internationally have an easy task laid out for them.
Timing Isn't Always Everything
Chuck Schumer (D-NY) As for the “timing” of this report, Rosenstein is still very new to the job. Congress slow-walked his approval as they did many other appointees, including the DAG's boss. And whose fault was that? Oh, yeah. Chuck Schumer! (along with lame ass GOPers like McConnell) Rosenstein was asked to look into something and make a report. He did. And it is a very straight-forward, level-headed report. I hope no one is losing any sleep over this. My friend Tim thinks it’s the bellwether of the coming Fascist state. It’s not. That would be Obamacare/Ryancare. All the wall-to-wall breast beating and crying today is just typical Beltway bullshit. Join Jeff's Army. Help a Great Cop in a Worthy Cause!