Different Goals & Directions: One is a Liar and One is Not
(Guess
which one is which)
Trump has fueled
hatred for James Comey and he has taken aim at the former FBI director repeatedly
since firing him in 2017, including with this historical tweet:
“James
Comey leaked CLASSIFIED INFORMATION to the media. That is so illegal!”
6:40
AM – July 10, 2017 (99.8K)
Now the true
story (which Trump hates and calls “Fake News”) – article here from The
National Review: First and foremost the DOJ IG did not find any
evidence that Comey leaked or gave any classified information to any reporter
or to anyone else details matter except to Trump apparently – anything to get
his base riled up to favor him and his 2020 reelection prospects.
Details: The DOJ IG, Michael Horowitz, issued a scathing report (August 29, 2019)
re: The
conduct of former FBI Director James Comey.
That focus was on the first few
months of the Trump administration detailing Comey’s actions that violated FBI
and DOJ policy. However, despite the harsh tone, the narrowly tailored IG’s report
failed to find Comey guilty of any serious criminal wrongdoing while revealing
the IG’s actually rather thin basis for criticizing Comey.
In the end, the
document proves a vindication for Comey’s controversial choice to release personal
memos (to his reporter friends) that triggered the appointment of SC Robert
Mueller.
That led to the production of the so-called “Mueller Report,” a
document that is far more important for the country and damning of the report’s
subject: President Donald J. Trump rather than the IG’s report on Comey could
possibly be.
As the IG report reveals, Comey did not do any of that. Trump was
referring to Comey’s decision, after he was fired, to give memos he had made as
FBI director about his interactions with the president to the New York Times
through an intermediary.
Those Comey memos revealed that Trump had asked for
his loyalty at a private dinner and tried to get Comey to drop the criminal
investigation into Trump’s former NSC Adviser Michael Flynn. Those revelations,
on top of Trump’s controversial firing of Comey, helped prompt the appointment
of a special counsel by Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein. Mueller then would go on to
investigate Trump’s actions and his many examples of obstruction of justice.
Since
Mueller found substantial evidence that Trump committed obstruction of justice,
it has therefore been psychologically and tactically important for Trump and
his allies to discredit Comey’s release of the memos.
Note: Even if Comey’s
sharing of the memos had been illegal, Mueller’s findings would still stand,
but Trump and his allies could muddy the waters of the investigation by saying
it was corrupt from the start. But, now that Trump-GOP-Rightwing effort to
tarnish Comey as a criminal leaker has crashed and burned.
Now, IG Horowitz’s
report throws water on the remaining embers.
Though Comey’s memos contained
some marginal classified information, Horowitz, as well as prosecutors at the DOJ
did not determine that he broke the law or leaked this information to the press
none whatsoever.
Comey celebrated the
finding on Twitter with some smugness:
“DOJ IG found no evidence that Comey or his attorneys
released any of the classified information contained in any of the memos to
members of the media. I don’t need a public apology from those who defamed me,
but a quick message with a “sorry we lied about you” would be nice.” “And to
all those who’ve spent two years talking about me “going to jail” or being a
“liar and a leaker” — ask yourselves why you still trust people who gave you
bad info for so long, including the president.”
10:01 AM - Aug 29,
2019 (88.9K)
My 2 cents:
Not much to add to this and the references therein … most is history now still
be written.
Three possible outcomes: (1) Trump can’t stand the growing pressure
and resigns (but not likely since he never admits failure), (2) Trump is
impeached, but McConnell’s-all GOP run senate is not apt to vote (2/3 majority)
for his removal, or (3) Trump loses 2020 reelection by huge margin and leaves
in disgrace.
Time tell
stay tuned. Thanks for stopping by.
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