I read many who say Comey is "self-righteous" and "egotistical" (I'm looking at you, Charles Blow), but this article suggests to me that Comey is simply a man who values truth above all else. You may not like his truth -- or the truth -- but you have to honor his integrity.
6
Comey knows.
4
Speaking as a not-American (I'm Canadian), I have a lot of respect for former-Director Comey. He really did seem to have been put in a horrible position. Everyone keeps forgetting how badly the American administration had misjudged the Russian situation until it was too late, much the same way that Chamberlain misjudged Hitler.
The FBI has been taking it on the chin for almost two years now, with career civil servants, counter-intelligence operatives, and special investigators being pilloried on the Floor and online, with anybody and everybody having to face the possibility that one day they would turn around and their names would be all over the TV for some imagined conspiracy.
I don't understand members of the American public who can accept this turning on fellow American citizens, the kind that actually bleed and die for you. I don't understand how Americans can just turn on fellow American citizens, children, widows, bereaved families, just because some ridiculous Internet story or news banner says so.
I understand James Comey's perspective pretty well. When I listen to him I feel like I was there. I don't really understand this relentless need to place blame and throw down revenge that many Americans seem to have.
What you have now is a country in crisis. It doesn't matter whose fault it is. I'm a Canadian, so I'm watching this trash fire from afar. You're all Americans, so go out and save it already!
6
I think most Americans simply aren't familiar with folks like Mr. Comey or Mr. Mueller; people in the public eye who've put service above self, time and time again. Yet there's still a significant percentage of Americans that either draw some equivalency regarding the statements and contemporaneous notes of Mr. Comey and the 'which way does the wind blow' narrative provided by President Trump.
4
"... impeachment would be a cop-out for a public that should also be held accountable for electing Mr. Trump in the first place."
The public did not elect Mr. Trump to this office, since Ms. Clinton got 2.9 million more popular votes than Mr. Trump (https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/21/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-pop.... It was the electoral college that elected him. The same electoral college that was created for the sole purpose of preventing an unsuitable candidate from becoming the President. Well, the electoral college failed miserably at their job and should be abolished. US should switch to direct elections by popular vote, in my humble opinion.
12
"A HIGHER LOYALTY"???
If Comey believes "Trump is a stain on all who work for him," why did he kiss up to DT during interregnum w/ his false overtures & lies of omission/commission? Why didn't he resign ?
Does Comey's "Higher Loyalty" include feigning having DT's back even as he stabs him in it?
Does Comey's "Higher Loyalty" include not telling DT that his opponent engineered, created & paid for the fraudulent dossier, using Clinton hitmen, cutouts, foreign agents & Russian sources?
Or that he used the "salacious & unverified" dossier—Comey's own words under oath— to defraud the FISC so the Obama-Comey FBI could spy on the Trump campaign & presidency?
Does Comey's "Higher Loyalty" include not warning the prez that Trump Tower was bugged by the ex-prez?
Does Comey's "Higher Loyalty" include implementing sham investigations/exoneration of HC, who, as SoS methodically, seditiously & w/ impunity auctioned off our security, sovereignty & economy to highest foreign bidder?
Does Comey's "Higher Loyalty" include implementing sham investigations/exoneration of HC, whose multifarious violations of law, including violations of the Espionage Act to protect her pay-for-play operation, put our national security in grave danger?
Does Comey's "Higher Loyalty" include his phony exoneration of HC—a willful, serial violator of the Espionage Act—that sets a dangerous precedent because it encourages & protects future traitors & put our national security in grave danger in perpetuity?
2
Please turn the channel and read something different...anything. Your being misled...BIGTIME
5
April 16, 2018
Who needs an Arthur Miller when the James Comey morality drama guides the moral arch for America's presidential dramatically statute for grace in the land of the free and home of the brave.
jja Manhattan, N.Y.
1
It was very revealing. Given the language from the Trumps and the degree of politeness Comey is showing......no doubt in my mind that we have a "Kakistocracy" in the White House to use the word Fmr CIA Director Brennan used to describe what we are experiencing today.
4
"Mr. Trump is often unaware of the danger he is putting himself into when he makes statements 'off the cuff' which he does so frequently. Would someone of "above average intelligence" not consider the consequences of what he says before he speaks? No, this president is of below average intelligence or he is so morally bankrupt that he is totally unaware of how badly he condemns himself when he speaks. He is a pathetic liar because he lies about things that nobody would have been concerned about before he told his lie.
10
The worst that you can say of Mr. Comey is that he made some mistakes.
The best you can say of President Trump is that he is a mistake.
19
Very neatly said.
5
If Trump and his loyal followers really honestly want to drain the swamp, then Trump needs to be judged just like everyone else. So the potential irony is if he actually does what he alleges he’ll do, it could be the very thing that brings him down. Lock her up? Fine, but you’re going too bub.
11
James Comey a wonderful symbol for our times: a corrupt bureaucrat who tried to balance his affection for Hillary with his dislike of the The Donald and failed. For a tall man, he is very small and won't be remembered kindly by history.
2
I think Trump has more in common with cult leaders than mob bosses. Here are some telltale signs of cult leadership that describe Trump and his relationships with followers:
• Absolute authoritarianism without meaningful accountability.
• No tolerance for questions or critical inquiry.
• No meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget or expenses, such as an independently audited financial statement.
• Unreasonable fear about the outside world, such as impending catastrophe, evil conspiracies and persecutions.
• There are records, books, news articles, or broadcast reports that document the abuses of the group/leader.
• Followers feel they can never be "good enough".
• The group/leader is always right.
• The group/leader is the exclusive means of knowing "truth" or receiving validation, no other process of discovery is really acceptable or credible.
[Suggested characteristics of cults taken from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2009/may/27/cults-defin... ]
5
"Yah! I stole the cookies-but it was OK!'Cause everyone was gonna haff enough cookies- an teacher gave out cookies erryday At the same time, ennyway-she used to--!
So my stealin' cookies woodenna made anny difference!"
This is Comey's warped and twisted logic justifying his criminal behavior denigrating Mrs Clinton for issueseven J.E. Hoover would have allowed to sleep on in their dirt nap.
Anyone, of any party or any political persuasion must be aware that Comey did what he did for one, simple and ugly reason: to drag votes away from Mrs Clinton and to Mr T.-he assumed there were already millions of fence sitting voters who needed only the nudge a "respectable and non partisan" FBI executive would give to any argument. Even the Times trusted Comey implicitly.
It worked like a charm. Democrats of all persuasions admit that Comey , once more, after Hillary-even if no one knew why-was more then enough to get many once red state , pro Obama voters, to turn to Trump-thinking the FBI must like him, or they wouldn't be dumping on Clinton.This is what Comey wanted.
If anyone should be prosecuted for illegal and criminal activities, using US government money and workers, to sway a federal election-it is Comey-Comey is as guilty of pushing Trump into the Oval office as are the Fox Noise company crooks.
Maybe, one day-if we are klucky-we will live to see COmey and Trump share a jail cell,(Mr T is more likely to go to a nut hatch) and do one another's laundry in a fed. Pen.
I believe he set Trump up - with his false sense of loyalty - I don't blame Trump one bit. Comey's book is a disgrace - no one will ever trust him -- in government work or in the private sector.
1
Even if the Russian prostitute event is true, it's minor compared to everything else Trump has done. His base would not care, not even the Evangelists, as long as he works to ban abortion, make sure everyone can stock their homes with more guns than they have books, and give massive tax cuts to the rich.
We need to stop talking about things that may or may not have happened, like the Russian prostitute pee tape. We need to focus on things that are more important and for which there is evidence. Collusion, obstruction, self-dealing, corruption, attempting to suppress first amendment rights, using the office of the President to bully, and on and on.
6
And to add to the list: undoing 50 years of environmental regulations, selling off public lands to dirty energy companies, withdrawing from the Paris Climate Pact, slashing fuel efficiency standards, opening our coastlines and the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, to just name a few of the assaults he has made on our future.
2
How did The Joker get elected President? Batman? Commish? Alfred?
2
"Trump is a bully and he wants to be seen as a bully. That gives him power."
Since elementary school, we knew that we should never engage with the bully. The bully would bring us down.
1
Anyone who followed Trump's career knew what freak show his administration would be. What was not known was how long would it take to materialize and how freakish would it be. Now we know: right away and immensely. When irreproachable people like Comey and Mueller are subjected to Trump's vulgar attacks, we know it is time to depose him, and the thugs around him.
7
Allow me to analyse the last sentence. I take the word "admission" in a context like this usually to mean that the writer believes the statement to be truth. If the writer thought the statement was false, he would likely have put the word in quotes so as to imply "the so-called admission." So the writer seems to imply that he believes Comey's statement; that it is true. But if it is true, still the writer implies that truth is only being revealed for other motives-- "to give his critics a win"-- so the motive of stating the truth is manipulative. Now the writer supplies no evidence to support the assertion that this is a manipulative use of a truth. This is the use of the word "seems" -- note that the writer doesn't say it seems to him, merely that it seems. We use the word "seems" in legal writing all the time to allow us plausible deniability in asserting conclusions about people bend the case against them in a subtle way. Whether the author is doing that it is unclear. But what of this objective use of "seems" as if the facts make it such that it would "seem" this way to an unbiased observer, if they had all the facts available to the writer. Really we need the writer to explain why what "seems" to him to be the case, should "seem" to us to be the case. We need the facts on which he based this conclusion.
2
Comey played judge and jury when he decided that Clinton's email violations was not something that would be prosecuted. Really?
Comey presented the Steele dossier as factual evidence, knowing full well the origin. Yet somehow he didn't believe that Trump had a right to know that the Hillary campaign had paid for the fake dossier? Really?
And the elites still don't understand why Trump won. Really.
1
Really? trumplet did not win by much! His win was not a landslide!! Hillary Clinton won almost three million more votes! trumplet won in three so-called Rust states by 80,000 votes and because of an antiquated college system that favors Oafland. It is important in life, if not in politics, to be fair and honest. PS trumplet is a disgrace! A vulgarian! An amoral! A fraud! A conman! He will go down in history not only as America's worst ever President - now, in the past and in the future - but as a supreme con man about whom, yes, movies will be made!! Super Con Man/ Supreme Con Man will be their titles.
2
"One of the most interesting observations by Mr. Comey during the interview was that Mr. Trump delivers monologues that are intended to leave the impression that those listening agree completely with him."
It's salesmanship. When employed by an unscrupulous con man, it can take in 46% of a democracy. Before you know it, you've bought the car, the mattress, the lack of an insurance policy, maybe a war.
5
Setting up your own server at home with classified information is "careless". The DNC funding a "dossier" full of baloney is really not that bad? Writing this book in the first place is appropriate, especially so soon after leaving the position as director? Personally insulting the President is OK too? Not to mention- exactly what is now going on now that Trump is elected that is so bad for the country? Last time I looked everyone's working, taxes are going down, no more new foreign wars and we're straightening out unfair trade. Stop complaining.
2
Check again. Syria looks like its reigniting. The supposed tax cut will end up costing people ore money and the trade war will harm business.
7
We are a nation of laws. If trump has violated the law(s), then he should be prosecuted. Simple. You may hope and wish that trump hasn't broken any laws, but the investigators seem to have a different reality. Further: only the Russians support their guy in the Oval Office. No patriotic American supports trump.
4
Gee, and the stock market is just roaring, huh? And the USA is the beacon of the world, not its laughing stock. I can only presume that trumplet's supporters are themselves in good measure con men: otherwise, how is it possible they do not perceive who this guy is.
2
There were no information about the prostitutes urinating on each other. No one has ever said that before. Why would Trump make that detailed assertion? Unless he was trying to hide the truth of what happened and it just another one of his false denials that slipped out by accident. Which means this tape does exist and the president of the United States is compromised by the Russians.
3
Comey is obnoxious. He is hard to watch. Even when he says things I agree with, he comes across as pious, preachy, a know-it-all. Trump knows this. And he knows his base is disgusted with Comey's take on things, and his style. In terms of public opinion, I don't think Comey moves the dial. No one from his base defects to the "never Trump" group; people disgusted with Trump have their take affirmed. We left with book sales for Comey, and ratings for ABC. The people are left holding the bag, still waiting on hard evidence from Mueller, so we can move forward.
2
Clinton would have lost with or without Comey's investigation. Democrats have to come to terms with having lost because of a deeply flawed and unpopular candidate who was so bad, she was usurped by a conman. I disagree with Comey regarding Trump's "above average intelligence". Yes - Trump is completely amoral, but he's also incredibly uneducated and Forest Trump - not very bright, just cunning and deceptive, like a mafia goon. I'm hoping the Democrats will learn from this horrible experience that they must move to the left if they want to win in 2018 and 2020. Otherwise, the losses will just continue to pile up. We need more women in Congress!
3
This certainly is the anti-Clinton memo that's been ordered up by the right wing hate machine. "Hillary was flawed..." No kidding! Further: the democrats shot themselves in the feet by running a dishonest primary - Sanders would've crushed trumpie. But it's the republican voters that have been usurped by a Con Man - after all, how many democrats voted for trump?
1
Dems need to move to the left (or I'll take my toys and stay home on election day)!
We need more candidates like McGovern and Mondale.
2
Did ABC News ask Comey to explain why he refused to investigate HRC regarding her illicit, unapproved, unsecure email server? Did ABC ask whether Comey thought her unsecure email server might have been hacked, and whether this might have provided the attackers with HRC's DNC email server access? Or was Comey simply ignorant of electronic security?
3
Did anyone ask why George W. Bush and Dick Cheney weren't investigated for using the RNC unsecured server, and then deleting an estimated 60,000 of them, possibly some of which were related to 9/11? No. I'm not asking for "tit-for-tat," but it seems that if Republicans use an insecure server, it's okay, but if Hillary did it, it's criminal! How many diplomats and other Department of State staff died at the hands of terrorists in service of their country under Republican administrations? Where were the investigations of those tragic deaths? Only the four deaths under Hillary's Department of State leadership resulted in a multi-million-dollar investigation. Come on. Let's get real. This is pure partisanship.
4
And I note: no investigation of Jarankya re: their using unsecured eMails for discussion of CLASSIFIED material without either even having top security clearance as well. When found out, they switched to using Trump Inc. server. Note how fast that faded from comment, and was not 'investigated' albeit by the GOP?
Real men don't apologize. They don't cry or say "I'm sorry."
Real men wouldn't have done it differently no matter what the consequences.
To paraphrase Churchill, a real man may sometimes stumble over the truth but he quickly dusts himself off and moves on.
go over to Fox and Friends and all morning they're talking and disparaging Stephanopoulos! He worked for the clintons so of course he's going to be biased on Comey side... Never once bringing up that Sean Hannity was chairman of the board for the RNC! Also the fact that Trump won is because of James Comey!
This is the best they got as a defense?!
6
Wow, you really believe that Sean Hannity was chairman of the board for the RNC? Prove it.
Fox isn't a news channel any more, it's the propaganda arm of the Republican party. The truth has very little meaning there.
4
Well, it's just been revealed that trumplet's lawyer,Cohen, was Hannity's secret lawyer too. Cohen's lawyer didn't want this to be revealed because it would embarrass the client. Ho Ho Ho! Is this made up, or what?
James Comey still refuses to acknowledge he was wrong to call a press conference on July 5, 2016, to proclaim Hillary Clinton should not be charged with mishandling classified information. He should have left the decision whether to prosecute Clinton up to the Justice Department. In his May 9, 2017, letter recommended that Comey should be fired, Deputy Attorney General wrote, “The director was wrong to usurp the Attorney General's authority on July 5, 2016, and announce his conclusion that the case should be closed without prosecution. It is not the function of the Director to make such an announcement. At most, the Director should have said the FBI had completed its investigation and presented its findings to federal prosecutors. The Director now defends his decision by asserting that he believed attorney General Loretta Lynch had a conflict. But the FBI Director is never empowered to supplant federal prosecutors and assume command of the Justice Department. There is a well-established process for other officials to step in when a conflict requires the recusal of the Attorney General. On July 5, however, the Director announced his own conclusions about the nation's most sensitive criminal investigation, without the authorization of duly appointed Justice Department leaders.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39866767
3
Exactly. Sally Yates had not been compromised.
2
I think the justice department left coney holding the bag on that decision. I believe US attorneys decide who gets prosecuted but they never said a word. They wanted him to make that call for political reasons. Or the fix was in. Who knows?
1
Whether you know or care if Trump lies like breathing air are two distinctly different things. If you don't care, fine. But the legality of his lies we should all care about. Being funny and promoting a positive spin agenda is very different than cover up and illegal activity.
There needs to be provisions within the office and ways to undo this if it happens again.
4
Amazing quotes.
Comey's not perfect but he dedicated almost his entire career to the F.B.I. and for Trump to fire him in a humiliating manner only 4 years into his 10 year term as F.B.I. director - because Comey refused to pledge a loyalty oath and also refused to drop the Mike Flynn investigation - was a travesty. We owe James Comey a debt of thanks for his service and his courage in telling us more closely what a bum Donald Trump is.
Say it again: President Trump is a bum.
8
Putin has trump in his pocket. And trump is doing exactly what Putin wants him to do which is to destroy the USA from within.
But Mueller is closing in on trump. Cohen has been raided and judging by the look on his face afterwards there are some very bad things for him and trump in those boxes the feds took. If it can be proven that he actually did the meeting in Prague all the threads will come together. And now Comey's book is coming out.
So Putin ordered his other puppet, Assad, to use chemical weapons again, in the most blatant way that would be the most horrifying on TV.
Then trump can launch a few dozen missiles, blow up some stuff in Syria, take some of the attention off of Mueller-Cohen-Comey for a few days, maybe even notch his approval up a percent or two.
It doesn't make a difference at all for Putin's endgame in Syria, trump will still let him do what he wants there and Assad doesn't really need those garages full of chemicals any longer.
Blowing up the Syrian air force would have mattered but, surprise, that didn't happen.
Probably trump and Putin didn't even have to communicate about this, it was already all settled in general terms, how these kinds of scenarios would play out, when they had those long extra meetings earlier in trumps "presidency" at the summit in Germany. Remember, the extra hours they talked after that dinner.
6
Exactly.
2
You could interview a hundred more people that would provide clear evidence that Trump is a terrible person and leader and it wouldn’t make me think any less than I already do about the guy.
3
Mr Comey’s observations come from as objective a place as possible. With trump that is truly difficult to do.
The staining comments make me wince. I have been saying to anyone who I chat with almost exactly the same thing, using the term radioactive.
Look st how many lawyers, wives, staff in his business ,staff @ the WH trump has run through. That is behaviour emblematic of failure, as the problem someone like trump presents is transferred by that person to everyone else .
No responsibility for their behavior is offered or sadly, expected.
I have worked with family members who behave similarly . I haven’t worked with them for 4 years now. It’s time this country does the same . Get rid of this man. He is toxic.
4
Mr Comey may be 6'8" tall, but he is a "little man" when he stoops to comments about Trump's physical appearance. And that is really pretty revealing about just who Mr Comey really is. He has a "savior" complex and thinks that only he is the teller of "truths". He is a deeply flawed man, and a petty man.
This book will do nothing to restore his reputation and it won't hurt Trump's. We all know what Trump is, even if we voted for him. And if we did, it was because we considered him the lesser of two evils. Neither candidate was good for this country! But his personal appearance, his crudeness, his coarseness , while offensive, do not in any way lessen his legitimacy as our president, nor are they impeachable offenses.
Most of the time if one feels one has been offended, taking the high road will be the best way to redeem oneself. Mr Comey should have done that, not this book which is filled with pettiness and his personal dislike and the fact that his ego was crushed.
2
I believe Comey.
3
Trump thinks he's been offended thousands of instances, but I don't think he's resorted to taking a high road not even once. He'd rather act like a child and Tweet insults and call people names...endlessly. He also thinks it is professionally acceptable as the President of the US, to fire people on national TV.
2
I don't believe trumplet and I don't believe India either!
God help us all. This mess was created by the pot and the kettle and their constant bickering and battle is increasing the chaos the whole world is feeling. The echos will go on in eternity and the spinning out of control will not stop.
There were so many failures of democracy in the 2016 election. The Democratic super delegates rendered the popular vote a moot point in selecting the candidate. If Hilary had really listened to the people and wanted a 'slam dunk' of any GOP candidate, Bernie Sanders would have been her running mate. The GOP, whose gerrymandering tactics have run a muck, sealed their own fate in handing them a candidate they clearly detested, but now what choices have they left themselves with? Which brings us to election day, so many failures on both sides and the stoppage of an observed recount of the votes in these battleground states, which to my way of thinking perpetuates the denial of democracy. Whatever happened to 'one person, one vote'? No, instead the effort to deny citizens due process in elections is an extension of what is happening to citizens on the streets of this country each and every day.
2
Would Sanders have respected her authority? I doubt it. That's a recipe for disaster. The super delegates did not change the result for Sanders. He lost on regular delegates alone.
4
I do believe that Comey's remarks about Hillary Clinton so close to the election helped swing it Trump's way. That, and all the Russian interference. Comey is a highly conflicted (and in that respect normal) person. He thinks he did the right thing, but the reason he did it was so he didn't influence the election to help Hillary. So he influenced it to help Trump. No moral high ground to be had when you're standing on both sides of the fence.
His remarks about Trump should be taken seriously. This is a clear and present danger. The election is over, we've all accepted the results. We cannot let Trump's eternal disregard for the country and those of us that aren't rich stand.
5
Not to belabor a point and all but I'm a little frustrated that Comey's declaration that Trump is "not fit" seems to be resonating with people more than when Hillary Clinton made the same declaration.
Hmm, why might this be so? Is it possible that, for some (inexplicable) reason, HE just seems more trustworthy than HER? "There's just something about HER I don't trust," as was (often) said.
7
Perhaps you don't trust women in political life. I trusted and admired her during the campaign, but then I'm not an American with
political and ideological axes to grind.
1
I sense and appreciate the very nuanced and seeming self-reflective searching responses from Mr. Comey in his effort to respect what was the non-partisan independent dimension of his position and to maintain the integrity of it while working during what many have referenced as a very difficult time in our US history. While on the other hand, Trump's response to direct questions on these matters lack any nuance, ie "No, No, No.... No Collusion." Nuance in my experience truly searches for truth, surrenders defensiveness, for the sake of truth.
21
There is simply no one to like here.
The DNC superdelegates forced Hillary Clinton on us primary voters, even though she was a horrible candidate.
But as horrible as Clinton was, Comey hammered the nails in Clinton's coffin by attacking Clinton days before the election.
Thus, Comey is responsible for an even worse outcome, the election of Donald Trump, who predictably, turned on Comey.
21
Hillary Clinton, 16.8 primary votes. Bernie Sanders, 13.2 primary votes. That translated to 359 more NON-super pledged delegates for Hillary Clinton. Next misrepresentation?
5
Clinton won the Democratic primaries by a comfortable margin. Are you trying to say that the superdelegates should have overlooked the results of the primaries and cast their votes for Sanders to nominate him for the Democratic nomination?
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/was-the-democratic-primary-a-close-c...
7
The superdelegates had nothing to do with it. She won easily without them. Remember she had them in 2008 but Obama was able to win them over which Bernie could have done if he showed any signs of taking over the popular vote, but he could only win caucuses. No bueno!
8
I find it hard to believe that the voters for Trump in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — the states that gave Trump the electoral victory — were influenced by Comey's actions. I also don't think that normally Democratic voters stayed at home because of Comey's actions. Hillary Clinton had been slimed for 30 years by Republican enemies, and the sliming worked.
32
Comey,,,,, I have no doubt because of the slim margins of the 2016 election, is single handedly responsible for Trump sitting where he is sitting.
It may have been mistake,,, but to open an investigation, because someone is the boss ,,, of an estranged spouse,,,, of a sexual miscreant, with no warrant, no search, no clue as to whether there has been a compromise of security or whether any email exists at all on that email account or server,,,, a mistake? Perhaps.
But it is a mistake a kindergartner would have not made. He found nothing after getting a warrant. He found nothing and announced it after the election.
I don't like Trump. I think he has violated his oath of office and the Constitution multiple times,,, anytime a New Delhi resident can buy a trip to the White House by buying a condominium,, a Chinese investor is promised the White House to invest a half million dollars, a Chinese national buys in Trump Tower NYC for a 30 million dollar inflatwed price,, the 'Initiation fee' of Mara Lago is doubled.... And the Russians have promised him a free major hotel nearing completion in St, Petersburg.
I don't like trump,,, but I don't like Comey either. That boat has sailed.
10
When an event has at least a dozen multiple causes, nothing or no one causes it "single-handedly."
2
Comey is not perfect, yet he IS telling it like he sees it.
We need a couple of dozen more from the Republican Party to finally stand perpendicular and say something.
34
The irony is that without Comey, Clinton would be president today.
First he announces that Clinton's use of a private server was "extremely careless," even though she was found to not be criminally liable (the latter being all that Comey should have stated, per FBI protocol).
Then just before the election he announces a new investigation because of Emails- soon found to be irrelevant- on the computer of (the forgettable) Anthony Weiner, then married to Clinton's aid, Huma Abedin.
But he never announces that an investigation had begun about Russia and possible ties to the Trump campaign.
Trump owes his victory to Comey.
24
I'm not sure that the outcome would have been different. It's very possible, even probable, that that information would have come out by some other means -- whether Wikileaks via the Russians, some media outlet like Buzzfeed or Fox, or the New York FBI office, which had already leaked information before and was known to have it out for Clinton. I, too, wish Comey had refrained, but I do think the outcome would have been the same anyway.
i don't know about the rest of the country, and the world actually, but i, for one, am sick to death of this merry-go-round of lies and corruption. nothing lasts more than one day before another topic of insanity makes the airways. show me a trump supporter and i will probably vomit on him/her. what has happened to our democratic country? i will be 70 next month and all i do is think about how good life was when i was growing up. there is a stench on america coming directly from the white house and congress that will take years and years to get out.
42
So when you were college age the vile Vietnam War was in full swing, for example. I certainly agree with your view of the present period, but I can't share your nostalgia. I'm 73. My first vivid political memories are of my mother glued to the Army-McCarthy hearings on tv every day. Scoundrels in high places are unfortunately not an innovation of now.
3
You lived through Nixon. 1968 was by far the worst the U.S. has gone through since the civil war. It's the nature of the human brain to remember the good and forget the bad. It's been much worse.
1
I watched and listened to the interview last night. Say what you may about either Comey's ego or his misjudgment re Hillary Clinton's emails so close to election day, I believe him and will put his integrity and honesty before Trump's any day. Did he defend himself arrogantly? Not necessarily. If we managed to get beyond our, or at least my, resent re his role as mentioned above, we found a man frequently admitting, to paraphrase, that perhaps he should have said "this instead" or spoken in another way as events unraveled.
We can debate this election for many years to come, but as far as I am concerned there were too many corrupt and devious forces behind Mr. Trump's election. The outcome was a done deal before we even cast our ballots. This all shines a light on Comey's words, absolutely correct and the crux of a notorious individual, that this president may be "medically fit" but he remains (always has and always will in my mind) "morally unfit."
23
And mentally and emotionally unfit, as well.
First, it is a tragedy that we are no longer reading articles about gun control.
Second, impeachment isn't the answer, but only because the Republicans are in charge, are now merrily swearing allegiance to Trump in advance of the midterms, and therefore would never vote to impeach Trump. In any case, even if Trump were impeached and convicted, that would leave the execrable Mike Pence in charge of our government.
What we need is for Democrats to vote out the Republicans in 2018 and restore fiscal responsibility and the rule of law.
19
I am a lawyer. I usually can understand the rationale for how a lawyer handles things.
Comey’s first pronouncement about dropping the email investigation for lack of evidence made no sense. All that was required was a short news conference announcing that the e-mail investigation found insufficient evidence to warrant an investigation. Period. The gratuitous commentary was not necessary and highly prejudicial to a person running for president.
The letter to Congress about state dept. emails found on Abedin/Weiner’s joint laptop should not have been sent unless and until they found evidence sufficient to prosecute Hilary. His handling of this is incomprehensible.
A good lawyer can admit when he or she has made a mistake. Comey can’t even admit he made a mistake. This says a lot about how he views himself as a lawyer and person. Comey sees himself as a modern day Martin Luther, reportedly claiming “Here I stand and can do no other.”
It should be remembered that he was performing someone else’s job. Lynch had to recuse herself from Hilary related matter for inexcusably talking to Bill. This meant that the events that generated the two announcements should have been handled by the AG, not the head of the FBI. From what I have heard, Loretta would have handled these very differently from The way Comey did.
10
"Morally unfit to be president"? How about morally unfit for civilized society?
42
You know things are bad in the US when the former Director of the FBI compares a sitting President to a mobster. I believe a man who has made a career chasing criminals and mobsters knows them when he sees them.
One term or less.
22
Anybody who deals with Trump is going to get dirtied. Comey is notable for the minimal amount of filth that has stuck to him. He is a direct participant in the Trump administration who is willing to go on record with his observations and judgments, refusing to normalize what is going on. For that reason, I think his book is important -- I pick up my copy at my local bookstore tomorrow.
14
I too was among those who initially questioned Comey’s pre-election announcement re: Clinton emails. But his explanation— that withholding information would have led to questioning a Clinton victory — satisfies me he acted with integrity. Moreover, it’s getting tiresome hearing that Comey cost Clinton the election. She won the popular vote by some 3 million votes. She lost the electoral college (that’s a whole other can of worms) I daresay because voters in states like PA, Wisconsin and Ohio were steadfast against her even before comey’s announcement.
21
Can't help but wonder if all those trump voters in PA, Wisconsin and Ohio have sense enough now to regret how easily they got suckered and what they learned about themselves from the experience.
4
There is nothing in the Constitution requiring that a President be morally fit. And moral fitness is a relative concept devoid of historical and current context and perspective.
5
Clearly, there's no "bottom of the barrel" for you, then?
2
There isn't anything about mentally and emotionally, either. Should we accept pathology there, too?
I encourage everyone to read the ABC transcript for the full 5 hour interview. After reading it, I find Mr. Comey to be entirely credible. He found himself in a situation not of his making in October of 2016, a situation that would paint him the villians for half of the country no matter what choice he made. The long form read sheds much more light on his decision making process. It is my feeling that he made that decision with integrity and strict observation of the law.
If only those who voted in the election had followed his deliberative process we would not now be saddled with a man who is morally unfit to hold office.
8
The comparison to the Mob boss is fitting. That video that we have seen played so many times of Comey coming over to Trump, just makes one think Trump expected to have the ring kissed in homage.
10
If Comey had not made his infamous statement about HRC, the information, or something else, fabricated or real, would have leaked. The Trump collusion campaign was not going to be foiled at the 11th hour.
3
Every single vote counts. If you think your vote does not, and you stay home, you are to blame for this crisis.
16
Comey should have said about HRC "We found nothing to prosecute, but you should draw no inference that she did her job well or badly, as that's not our job to comment on." People might have said the fix was in, but there is no rational basis for their saying so. Being criticized by cretins comes with the territory. A policeman's lot is not a happy one.
7
I fail to see how “stain” does the man full justice. It lets him off far too lightly. I would have gone with “horror” or “monstrosity” or “moral repugnance” or better yet all three.
8
I love this "format" - quotes and then amplification/ explication.
And one can't help but recognize that even at the left-leaning NY Times, there's still a little temptation to "walk things back."
That is, Mr. Shear must have been tempted at many times to write in a "What he meant to say is" vein.
Never is that more obvious (in this article) than the commentary re Mr. Comey's speculation that Russia COULD HAVE "something on the President."
Of course, Mr. Shear is entitled to point out that "no evidence was provided." But jurors are told to NOT CHECK their "common sense" at the door, and I think that's precisely what Mr. Comey is/was doing in this instance.
With a few exceptions - and with this President, as the article points out, Mr. Trump is quite capable of asserting something AND ITS OPPOSITE within minutes - Mr. Trump has treated "all things Russian" in an utterly baffling fashion.
I still find it hard to credit Mr. Comey's "this is a man of above-average intelligence" when the President could (AND DID) congratulate Mr. Putin on an election ("rigged" understates it enormously) victory at a time that GB was nearly certain that Russian agents attempted murder on British soil.
The point here is simply this - "when it looks like a duck, acts like a duck, etc." making the presumption that it IS a duck is what most of us do most of the time - and rightly so.
Mr. Comey IS intelligent and he posits a reasonable cause to actions and speeches that are all but bewildering.
3
Comey’s observations of Trump are spot on. It’s too bad his history makes him an imperfect messenger. Honest, but flawed. Fortunately, Trump is so transparent in his behavior, we don’t really need Comey’s help to judge him. We just need his thorough documentation to help with a conviction.
7
The true message gets diluted with comments about height, hair and hands. No need to throw everything and the kitchen sink into the mix.
3
I was thinking the same thing. Who cares about Trump's hair or hands? They are definitely not the problems: the man's vindictiveness, mental instability, and possible criminal behavior are, however.
2
I wish Comey and Hillary would go off and disappear together for a while. The former does not help Mueller. The latter does not help the upcoming election. We really need to get rid of the criminal currently housed at 1600 and neither one is helping.
2
‘I have to be careful not to fall in love with my own view of things.
Mr. Comey violated guidelines, standards, and traditions of the Department of Justice, in order to punish Senator Clinton's use of a server, a server used by her two preceding Republican Secretary of States.
Blaming an elderly woman of manipulating technology developed by the State Department does not make sense. This is a Yale Law School graduate we are talking about, who used an old model Blackberry-not Steve Jobs!
8
If Comey had not come out with the information that the FBI had found Hillary Clinton's emails on Weiner's computer (but they had not yet been examined) and then she won (as she was expected to do) to let that information out after the election would have been a different and damaging problem. Difficult decision for Dir. Comey-but he told the truth as he knew it at that time.
33
Imagine anyone in his shoes. He is told that a separate investigation found, by accident, several thousand emails on Weiner's computer. This is after the FBI received sworn statements that they had been given everything. (Lying to an FBI agent is a felony with prison time.) His agents told him that the verification of whether they had already reviewed the emails would take an indeterminate amount of time and, if he kept this issue quiet and there was incriminating documents found, he, and he alone, would be responsible for this subversion of the democratic process. What would you do in his place?
5
The subject matter is comprised of the lowest common denominator attributes that any human being could possibly be capable of ... so, that being said, the interviewee has used all of the language of the subject (tawdry as it is) to describe and explain what was encountered in the presence of these characteristics while in play, live, in person, in a setting that has an enormous impact on the world and all of the individuals inhabiting it. Going forward, may we be rid of this blight -- soon -- and find a way to thrive and support each other.
10
I'm sorry, but to even stand up to Donald Trump and people like him under a National spotlight, you need to have a pretty big ego of your own. At least he has the decency to recognize that it puts some people off. No such luck from Trump.
I'm thinking that this is actually Presidential Candidate Comey's first true sally into the 2020 campaign's swamp-heart of darkness.
12
I, too, would like to see Comey run for President.
1
Not as a Republican, but yes.
I'm surprised the Times gives the Comey interview so much play, especially above the fold. He was so self-serving and disgracefully suggestive of Trump wrongdoing he couldn't prove that he probably did Trump more good than harm. I expect a "sympathy vote" for Trump in forthcoming polls.
I suspect CNN feels the same way. Last night after the interview I noticed that CNN went with it's "Pope" series instead of the Comey interview commentary listed in the cable Online TV Guide.
4
ABC did a dreadful job in loading on the commercials. The result was an interview that was disjointed and episodic. Comey comes across as a bit of a goody two-shoes who thinks quite highly of himself. Nonetheless, his narrative is more than believable. Is this confirmation bias? I'm not sure since I'm prepared in advance to think the absolute worst of one of the most repellent humans to have ever occupied such high American office.
17
Comey IS a “goody-two shoes”.
Thank goodness!!
Comey has a big ego, and surely enjoys the fame and money his book will bring.
But he's also a company guy, an FBI leader. This is a big message to all the FBI about what they're up against. The FBI and CIA are conservative institutions, serious mostly white guys obsessed with security issues. In their gut they distrust liberals, for all the standard reasons.
Comey has let all know, top to bottom, they're dealing with such an aberration there's no comparison to ordinary political labels.
His message also protects Mueller. The Special Council is mum, and unlike Comey, isn't a media guy. This shout-out gives Trump and Trumpers a taste of what's to come, if Mueller is fired. It'll be "A Higher Loyalty" multiplied by 10.
44
Here is a man who is bewildered by the strange creature in the White House, and who--in real time-- is trying to figure out how to work with him.
Do I think Comey has a big ego? Everyone of any standing in Washington has a big ego.
Do I think some of his own decision making is problematic? Problematic, yes, but not the problem.
The problem we all face is how to work through respected channels in a respectful and respectable way, when the other side of the encounter is a president straight out of Alice in Wonderland.
One cannot insert such a freakish character into the narrative and then expect everyone else to continue in their business-as-usual manner. That would be impossible.
Should Comey have mentioned Trump's hands? Of course not, but that's exactly what he's talking about when he talks of the "stain" of Trump. Whatever sanity and decorum a person might bring to their dealings with Trump, they will continue to get dragged down, or shouted over, or have things thrown at them until we all finally roll up our sleeves and remove the orangutan from the room.
48
What I gather from what I've read (I missed the interview) is that like most of us, Comey is a mixed bag. No one is completely correct about everything. We are human and we make mistakes. Most of us also get a few things correct. Some of us get more than a few things right. The fact that Mr. Comey described in detail some personal interactions with the president and his conclusion that the man is morally unfit, should give most of us good reason to pause. The thing which suprises me most is my agreement with Comey about impeachment. Although I voted for Ms. Clinton, I, along with all of the American people made terrible mistakes somewhere along the way that contributed indirectly or directly to the election of Trump. It's on us to correct it, first within our political culture and then at the ballot box.
28
I think Comey is a bad player and it's unfortunate because Trump clearly fired him in order to obstruct justice.
One fact shouldn't effect the other but the public (and the media) will use Comey's character and behavior to frame/filter/color/spin a treasonous crime. The impulse to separate individuals into good guys and bad guys is irresistible but does a disservice to everybody in the end.
If nothing else, Comey will make a brilliant, Shakespearean, Oscar-worthy role for some gifted actor someday.
2
One question not asked was why Comey rushed into print attacking the President before all the dust settled and he had the perspective of history and subsequent reflections of top Government officials and the Congress. Rushing into print always suggests hidden agendas. And they’re here.
Another question is whether its “honorable” to castigate a sitting POTUS after one has been terminated.
2
Trump deserves castigating precisely because he is the sitting president and so unworthy of that position. Trump brings all of this upon himself, time and time again.
6
I am no fan of Comey, and a recurring theme in the NYT comments over the last couple of days is "Comey helped Trump win the white house". Let's dissect that argument.
It might help here, to think about the demographics of people who changed their tune from being in support of Hillary to actually voting for Trump after Comey's revelation 10 days before the election. What kind of person in their right mind would be a democratic supporter and then flip to Trump? I can only fathom two demographics here: (1) Extremely low information and trigger happy independent, or (2) firmly democratic, but already on the edge about Hillary, and then wasting their vote by casting it in favor of a third party. If there another demographic that is complicit in Trump's win, I don't know what it is.
Thus, I don't put much stock in the assertion that Comey changed the course of history through his revelation.
14
(3) fence-sitters who decided to stay home.
There were more than a few who were unhappy with the choices, and predictions of a sure Clinton victory seemed to give them a reason to pass.
7
Third, and probably crucial demographic: suburban white people leaning toward HRC though in fact they are independents and/or moderate Republicans, fearful of Trump - then boom. All they need to hear is "Hillary Emails On Anthony Weiner's Computer" and the ick factor kicks in. They don't vote for Trump; they just stay home. Remember it only took a few and he's in the White House thanks to our absurd and anti-democratic Electoral College.
5
I have yet to hear of anyone that changed their vote due to what Comey said 11 days before the election. I had already mailed my ballot in before the episode.
1
Comey said everything about Trump that most of us have been thinking. I am pretty certain Comey is also speaking for most people in office now, including Republicans.
44
My disdain for Comey is only slightly less than my disdain for Trump. Comey was trying to be 'too clever by half' when he gambled that his announcement that Hilary's email investigation was back on wouldn't impact the outcome of the election.
That pronouncement, which in all likelihood cost Democrats the presidency, was a clear violation of his own department's policy and a contravention of one of the most basic principles of the investigatory process.
Like many people in America and elsewhere, I'm less bothered by Hilary's failure to become president than I am with what did become president. This wasn't a choice between good and bad. It was between tolerable and totally, appallingly, dangerously, mind-numblingly intolerable.
No, Mr. Comey, I won't be buying your book - not if it goes to paperback and winds up in the 80% off bin at Walmart. By giving, even unwittingly, Trump a leg up you let America down.
7
If Hillary had never hit the delete button thirty-three thousand, count them, thirty-three thousand times we would never had heard of Comey...or Bill Clinton having a secret tarmac meeting with Loretta Lynch.
Hillary cost the Democrats the election. I hope hitting delete all those times even though her computer kept asking her, Are You Sure?, was worth it. Hillary keeps looking for someone to blame rather than looking in the mirror.
Thank you for printing the context for each of the quotes you used in other articles. These longer Comey quotes actually change my understanding of what he said and have changed my viewpoint on former Director Comey. I thank him for his service in difficult times. And I am grateful that such a principled man was at the helm making these difficult decisions. I don’t think it was possible to make a perfect decision.
117
I basically agree with everything Comey said about Trump, However,it was Comey that was partially responsible for Trumps Presidential win, with his announcement of finding more Clinton emails in Wiener’s computer 10 days before the election, which helped to bring down Clinton.This was either stupid or calculated to help Trump win,. I believe it was Comey’s way of covering his bases in case Trump won.Comey was concerned about keeping his job.He’s certainly not an Angel.
20
Neither of your 'opinions' is true/helpful. Comey is neither stupid or a Trump supporter. He was doing his job as he saw it. The emails were found-a fact. Would you have the FBI hide that information? It is the voters-influenced perhaps? by their Facebook contacts- who made their choice. Maybe the voters should be smarter.
This man is a narcissist of the first order. And he lies at the drop of a hat, remembering conversations when it suits him, and claiming ignorance when it helps his self serving narrative. The fact that he even had to think twice about the political ramifications of reopening the case against Hillary Clinton during the end stages of the campaign, tells any simpleton that he was only protecting his own skin, and to hell with his responsibility to tell the truth. At the end of the day, it's all about hawking his book.
7
He is a completely political and served that way - scheming and plotting in a grossly unconstitutional way. He needs to face a jury.
2
"Only protecting his own skin", how so?
He made a mistake that made Trump President. From a lawyer's point he did nothing illegal. From a tax payers point of view, he performed poorly. He has to face reality and admit he screwed up the United States by his actions. "Lordy, I hope not." doesn't cover the damage.
29
"A classic trope of religious bigots is while they are denying people their rights they claim their rights are being denied. While they are persecuting people they claim to be persecuted. While they are behaving colossally offensively they claim to be the offended party. It’s an upside down world." Salmon Rushdie
While Mr Rushdie was referring to specifically religious bigots the statement applies to bigots of all odors.
33
“…it seemed like he had average-sized hands,” is the snarkiest comment Comey makes among those selected and shows how little love's lost between these two. Stay tuned for a dead of night Twitter rampage. Sad.
8
If Trump was at all "presidential" he would have more important things to do than take revenge on people who question his hand size. Barack and Michelle Obama certainly endured much worse -- but they were much too classy to even respond.
1
Comey, and others, have testified under oath.
Trump has never testified under oath,. Thus, he says whatever he wants without risk of perjuring himself.
Put Trump under oath. Level the playing field.
That's when this will become interesting.
11/6/18. VOTE.
196
excellent point! very astute of you to think of that.
5
Comey, and others, have lied under oath.
LMJr, You say Jim Comey should "face a jury." On what charge?
You say he has "lied under oath." Is there a link to a Times story about this certainty?
I don't think the comparison to the Mob is at all controversial. Many of us see it like that. After all that's why Trump uses the language he uses. He wants us to think that. Trump is a bully and he wants to be seen as a bully. That gives him power.
It contributes to his sense of being the center if everything. His aides all treat him like a godfather who must be placated. He is an emotional abuser, a criminal who has escaped justice his entire life by paying people off and manipulating outcomes.
Comey has it exactly right. Comey seems very clinical in his analysis, not vindictive or even resentful. He is a patriot who just tried to do his job. There is no protection for him because there were no policies in place to handle a situation like this. That is also true for how he dealt with the investigations of both candidates for president. There should be policies for that circumstance. A working Congress oversight committee could do that now, but they won't.
111
I have read a number of pieces that describe Mueller investigating this "administration," the same way he did crime families. And he took those families down.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/12/how-scared-should-trump-be-of-mu...
1
I've always wondered who set up the letters that were missing. At least Mr. Comey, by interjecting himself in trying to fine the letters in the last moments, and thereby prevent complaints by Trump and his followers for ever.
2
I was struck by what Mr. Comey said about impeaching Trump. He said that he'd rather see the country prove their values by voting him out of office.
I find that very compelling. Yet, I still want to see Trump impeached for his immoral and criminal behavior.
104
In a perfect world, he is impeached though not removed from office (ala Bill) and loses by a landslide in 2020.
14
RKPT, We probably agree that "in a perfect world," Republicans repudiate Trump's birtherism the moment he began to profit from it in 2011 and have the patriotic good sense to deny Trump their major-party nomination for President.
And what tax cut would that be? My taxes next year will be going up (and I'm barely middle class here in CA).
There is no way for comparison of Comey and Trump. Comey's outstanding/unblemished career within the USG is not tarnished. Trump's few months as "President" has been filled with his lies/corruption/business protection/no interest of Russian interference with our elections/his ways and means of continuing to pad his 'worth' with tax payer dollars/etc./etc./ says it all. HE is NOT to be trusted with ANYTHING, particularly OUR DEMOCRACY!
70
I guess you won't accept your tax cut then.
And what tax cut would that be? My taxes will be going up next year, and I'm barely middle class here in CA.
What I noticed about Comey is that he seems to be so straight and honest that he would be the guy in high school that would go out of his way to report on his friends for smoking in the boys room. There is not doubt he is telling the truth, but it's his motives that I question. It's not about money as a lot of pundits have claimed, it's about getting ahead of the game by exposing potential wrong doing so he can say, you see I was right. Nobody can get away with anything with me. But if you noticed, in the event he is wrong, he covered himself by saying things like, It appears... or He strikes me as... or I'm not trying to suggest... or I'm walking forward thinking... or And the question is... All statements that everybody knows or suggest there is something there or not. No lies, but a lot of innuendo. Likely correct, but yet to be proven. In other words Comey is the guy who will report you to the principal even if you were talking about smoking in the toilet, but have yet to do it.
15
In one section in this article, we read where Comey tells about how he inadvertently laughed out loud when Trump explained that since he was a germophobe he couldn't have peed on anyone. The section ends with Comey saying that after that encounter, he "went to find my chief of staff to tell him that the world’s gone crazy."
That made me inadvertently laugh out loud. Sorry, but the world has always been crazy. Have you heard about how humans have been treating other humans ever since they've been around? Not just in other places. Have you heard about the history of this country?
Yes, progress has definitely been made and will continue, but we are still in crazy world. Trump's not some weird anomaly. He's only emblematic of a current version of human nuttiness.
We hope that a world of absolute sanity will finally prevail. Maybe it will, but it probably won't be in any our lifetimes.
But for now, we individually need to get it together -- we need as individuals to become sane while in the middle of a raging insane asylum.
We all know when we're going along with the madness and when we're not. I think Ralph Ellison's line in "The Invisible Man" gets it just right --
“Power doesn't have to show off. Power is confident, self-assuring, self-starting and self-stopping, self-warming and self-justifying. When you have it, you know it.”
14
"Do I like like a guy who needs hookers?"
Yes, Trump, you absolutely do. He's so delusional that he think he's handsome.
Trump is a disaster; we all know it. But it's good to have someone like Comey lay it out clearly and articulately. And I like it that he said Trump has 'average-sized' hands. It showed he's a million steps above Trump's pettiness and nastiness.
67
Can you really call the softball questions an interview? I'd like to see a nonpartisan journalist interview Comey. I'd like to see someone from 60 Minutes conduct the interview. Too bad Tim Russert is no longer with us.
5
There have been a lot of assumptions on why Comey wrote this book. I think it was written for exactly the reasons he stated. He wanted to set the record straight. As a private citizen he has that right. But we already know what happened and we can identify with what he was thinking at the time. Unfortunately, as an FBI agent you have to keep your mouth shut about what you really think, and how he handled the Clinton emails, sent a memo to Congress about opening the investigation without first seeking permission and made statements about her being careless about the handling of classified information is out of character for an FBI agent. Yes, he handled thing wrong, but he is not a liar nor a profiteer.
26
Listening to the soft spoken introspective Comey only made me feel more of a sense of deep concern for my country. Imagine, we have a president who a former director of the FBI cannot guarantee that our current president is not being compromised by Russia.
Think what you want about Comey, but when it comes to Trump, the end of his tenure as president cannot come soon enough.
71
I understand now how Comey could have discussed FBI investigations into Clinton without regard to the political fallout. He seems to be somewhere out along the Asperger's spectrum (yes, I know, there's history, and maybe that's not even a thing). He just doesn't get sarcasm, irony, or how politics works.
4
Seems to me Comey was naïve to think that a dinner with Trump would not put him in a compromising position. As an FBI agent you prepare for such things. However, it could be that felt like he was being recognized by the high school principal as a good boy and was ready to demonstrate how good he is at his job. Like with most of us we never suspect that our Principal might have some nefarious reason to see us. But as an FBI agent, you have to learn to be ready for anything, and he wasn't when it came to the question of loyalty.
3
While James Comey suffers from Boy Scout Syndrome, our Toilet-In-Chief suffers from a highly destructive form of malignant narcissism is thoroughly devoid of any sense of morality, right or wrong or genuine concern for that amorphous thing called 'society'.
Comey is slightly flawed.
But Trump is a world-class sociopath, and has no business being near public policy, the military and the rule of law.
One guy is flawed; the other guy is lawless.
The tendency of some to throw these two individuals into the same boat is yet another epic exercise in destructive false equivalence.
Trump needs to be removed from the Oval Office as the amoral sociopath and lawless renegade he truly is.
Vote on November 6 2018.
190
Ah Socrates, I can always count bon you to hit the nail on the head! Your comments are priceless.
11
James Comey struck me as being honest and genuine in the interview. He is measured, thoughtful, and takes ownership of interactions with 45 that he now feels he could have handled better. He is not sensationalistic, and so when he does express concern on matters such as 45's worthiness of the office, I am concerned too.
47
As we blame Comey, and we do with justification, don’t forget why he was calling those shots on the Clinton email investigation. Ordinarily, the AG and DOJ would have decided whether to prosecute and would have been in charge of how decisions on that subject were communicated, but AG Lynch just had to chat with Bill Clinton on the tarmac. It’s like all of the most important decision makers — save Obama — just decided to do whatever because, hey, it’s not as though the stakes weren’t incredibly high. That goes for Hillary Clinton, too. Unforced errors everywhere.
34
"got the feeling that Mr. Trump wanted to talk about the public relations effort with the intelligence chiefs there to send a message that they were part of the spin effort"
Of all the chiefs of intel., Pompeo did try to say, twice, that the intel community said the Russian effort 'had no effect' on the outcome of the election. They did NOT say that. Pompeo = malefactor.
"Mr. Trump delivers monologues that are intended to leave the impression that those listening agree completely with him."
This may be the most interesting insight into Trump's mode of operation.
I've thought this from the very beginning; He leaves the impression that the whole room buys in to everything, every lie he utters, as completely true. When no one protests he takes it as affirmation.
People, be they reporters, politicians, or simply photo-op fodder, need to start standing up immediately and say, 'No! Everyone does not agree with that, Mr. President!'
86
The Comey interview on ABC was so invaded by advertisements that I learned very little from it. Fortunately, there are excerpts of the full interview.
Comey handed the country to Trump with his very irresponsible decision to share information about the finding of HRC emails on electronic devices belonging to Weiner. He owns the country an explanation and trying to earn money and stir the pot while the Mueller investigation is still going on is irresponsible as well.
I am not going to buy his book, I hope somebody will leak a pdf file of it.
4
Done. Go to Google.
Fascinating discussion. If the outcome weren't so serious, this would make for a great Netflix drama.
8
Mr Comey,
Please take the high road here. State the facts as you see them but, please, do not stoop to school playground tactics such as name calling etc. - we already are being served too much of that by our 'president'.
5
Yes, we know that Comey himself is a flawed character; but the book wasn't written as a legal brief for Trump's removal, only one man's view from inside the swamp.
6
Words from an honest man. His demeanor said it all. The interview was business-like without softball lobs.
19
Comey's attempt to bear witness to the "friends and family" presidency his former boss is running, brings nothing new to the discerning 64%, and is likely to fall at the microphones of the fox propaganda machine, keepers the other 34%. Still it is a stirring text, especially when one considers the character of Mr Comey; an earnest civil servant, reaching the pinnacle of law enforcement, not perfect in all cases, but each thought well reasoned - worthy of Shakespeare's Brutus whose utter devotion to the common good was a flaw as well as a virtue- the noblest of them all whose goodness has no place in the havoc caused by reckless ambition.
13
All of Comey's leadership flaws originate from the same problem: he conflates what's best for the FBI with what's best for society.
If a civil servant cannot separate the needs of their job from the needs of society, then having principles are almost as dangerous as not having them.
7
Exactly my take on the matter! He was so concerned about the integrity of the FBI, as he saw it, that he forgot about the integrity of our democracy.
1
FRom the public record, it appears tht Donald Trump stains every person with whom he comes in contact. This includes James Comey, a dignified, honest public servant, who lost some of his sheen by commenting on Donald Trump's personal appearance.
16
I found it interesting to hear Mr. Comey speak for himself. However, I think the program says more about the sorry state of commercial television owned or controlled by billionaires than anything else. I did learn that there are apparently no limits on the amount of advertising that can be shown.
46
Exactly. One hour of interview? Nope, it was more like 15 minutes, if you consider also the background story running between questions and answers.
10
I agree. The "show" which was what it was, had occasional foreboding background music and quick cuts more like a entertainment special than a news report. Disappointing.
7
. . . nor the type of advertising. Small children used to talk about feeling clean after using toilet paper (was this ironic commentary on the topic of the show?), drugs for metastatic cancer--a comment on the state of the country?) . . .
I suppose the Comey interview is news worthy and that there are reasons we should care about what he has to say but I can’t help but think that he is no different than any of the others who enable Trump. He didn’t stand up to Trump and speak out when he was in office and only found this moral high ground after he was fired. What is needed from the people who are in office is the courage to publicly oppose what the stable genius is doing to our country.
47
He did indeed stand up to Trump before being fired: he refused to pledge loyalty to Trump and declined to drop the Flynn investigation. That's why he was fired!
9
He did actually stand up to Trump -- he refused to let go/stop the investigation of Michael Flynn. That's why Trump fired him. So far, it looks like all of the individuals that Trump has fired -- Tillerson, Mattis, Comey -- were removed because they had the guts to disagree with him privately.
2
Until someone has come face to face with the devil himself, he shouldn't judge others who have. Especially if they haven't yet fully realized the evil they are facing, and more especially when others all around have capitulated.
1
Ever notice that Donald Trump always accuses other people of traits and actions of his own?
141
Welcome to politics. It occurs on both sides of the aisle, but is predominantly been the rightwing tactic for decades. It has strong roots in Jerry Falwell's "Moral" Majority that helped elect Reagan.
15
Yes, it’s called psychological projection.
8
It's called projection.
Psychological projection is a defense mechanism people subconsciously employ in order to cope with difficult feelings or emotions. Psychological projection involves projecting undesirable feelings or emotions onto someone else, rather than admitting to or dealing with the unwanted feelings.
6
He thinks too much of himself with no humility, opposite extreme of Trump. He made a historical error that is costing western civilization a lot pain and anxiety,he still denies that, he will wake up one day to understand what he just did, or not. We must live with the consequences of his mistake 3 more years.
24
at LEAST 3 more years. It's likely that Trump will be elected to a second term, especially if the Democratic Party is weakened by "progressives."
2
Are you suggesting that thinking too much of yourself with no humility is the opposite of Trump? Or am I misreading this? Because that pretty much describes Trump to a T.
16
You state Trump will likely "be elected to a second term" due to democrats being weakened by "progressives." It is time we all look at what is best for the country and stop with the labels and sound bites.
1