Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Dr. Strangelove]

Rosenstein's memo was dated yesterday. Does anyone seriously believe that memo is why Trump fired Comey? Within hours of receiving it? It didn't even recommend dismissal in its conclusion.

Trump's been working on this for a while and Rosenstein is merely cover. The real reasons are more likely because 1) Trump wanted Comey to publicly exonerate him and 2) Wanted the Russia/interference investigation to be shoved aside in the search for leakers.

[entropy]

DSL.. in one post, trump is an idiot.. in the next, he's tactical. He can't be both. Don't give him that much credit for elaborate plans. He's not a strategist.

[froot loops]

Oh you can be tactical and an idiot. Yesterday's firing proves it.

[Dr. Strangelove]

DSL.. in one post, trump is an idiot.. in the next, he's tactical. He can't be both. Don't give him that much credit for elaborate plans. He's not a strategist.

I don't think it's giving him a ton of credit to suggest that the Rosenstein letter is only an excuse and that Trump has been stewing about Comey for a while and looking for a good opportunity to boot him.

Believing Trump was motivated by what was in that letter stretches all bounds of credibility. JMO

What's your thoughts on why Trump inserted into Comey's termination letter a 'thank you' for exonerating Trump in three conversations? The WH is refusing to provide any additional info on what Trump is referring to there. That paragraph is a good clue as to why Comey really got the boot.

[Wild Hoss]

DSL.. in one post, trump is an idiot.. in the next, he's tactical. He can't be both. Don't give him that much credit for elaborate plans. He's not a strategist.

As I said above, we've seen enough already to kind of figure out how this WH operates.

How their initiatives are implemented tend to reflect, first and foremost, on whether he's acting rationally and in concert with advisors, or acting out on his impulses because of something he saw on television.

Secondly, on which advisors he's listening to. There are some nuts in his orbit that have led him calmly down some pretty terrible paths, but there are good political resources available to lean on. And Kushner, while an immense douche, is sharp as hell.

[froot loops]

Kushner is a one eyed man in the land of the blind. The sharpest thing about him is he doesn't speak.

[Mainevent]

Well, to be fair, Kushner has his hands full with creating peace in the middle east, re-working the entire federal government, improving relations with China and Mexico, solving the North Korea issue, and reforming the criminal justice system. He can't do everything.

[hack]

I thought the John Oliver piece on Kushner and Ivanka 2 weeks ago was the best thing that show's done in a very long time.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Let the leaks begin...

Just days before he was fired, Comey had asked Rosenstein and the DOJ for more $$$ and personnel for the Russia investigation

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/10/us/politics/comey-russia-investigation-fbi.html

[froot loops]

But the emails!

[Dr. Strangelove]

Russian state media is flooding their channels with photos of Trump/Lavrov yucking it up. Not a single member of the US media was allowed into the room. Fox actually announced it's refusing to run the Russian photos in protest

[ame]https://twitter.com/paleofuture/status/862330774644637696[/ame]

[Wild Hoss]

Let the leaks begin...

Just days before he was fired, Comey had asked Rosenstein and the DOJ for more $$$ and personnel for the Russia investigation

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/10/u...ation-fbi.html

Well, that provides the context to my post above then, in lieu of the testimony.

[Da Geezer]

(1)Everything cited in the letter to justify Comey's firing took place before the Election. Trump should have fired him in his first week on the job if that were the case.

(2)Actually, asking us to believe that Trump fired Comey because he felt Hillary was mistreated during the campaign is simply laughable.

1. I agree. But then you would have said the exact same things that you are saying today. Comey was toast when L. Lynch tried to get away with her secret meeting with Bill Clinton on the tarmac in Phoenix. From that point, Comey took it upon himself or was ordered to act outside the normal roll of the FBI. Had you heard that there was no grand jury for the Clinton investigation, before last night when I posted it? I hadn't until yesterday, but that means there was no FBI investigation because the fix was in with the DOJ.

More important, Rod Rosenstein was confirmed at the end of April (94-6) because of the Dem policy of total resistance and delay in all matters regarding Senate confirmations. The AAG was Comey's direct superior, and his first task was to evaluate Comey. This was not a close call, and I agree totally that the letter was a CYA for Trump. But that doesn't change what Comey did to effectuate the whitewash of Hillary by the DOJ. Comey's firing will have zero effect on the FBI investigation, BTW.

2. Could you quote from the letters where Trump says Hillary was treated unfairly? What Comey did on July 5 was:
-rewrite the Espionage Act so that "intent" was added to a law that specifically did not include intent
- found "extreme carelessness" in the actions of Clinton, but not "gross negligence".
- said no reasonable prosecutor would bring the case, which is not only untrue, but was not his prerogative to decide.

Please trust me when I say that Comey's "exoneration" of Hillary was a much greater affront to working folks than anything else the did, and I believe, was a significant reason Trump was elected. I believe this was a major factor in the appeal of the phrases "drain the swamp" and "lock her up" that you heard at Trump rallies. We all said on this forum that the American people would act as the jury regarding Hillary's crimes. They did. You Dems have Trump as President, in large part, because the Democrat party ordained Hillary well in advance of 2015, and the party shielded her from prosecution for her criminal conduct, (both the Espionage Act violation and taking bribes) in addition to shielding her from a primary challenge. You got her for a candidate, and the rest is history.

[Da Geezer]

Why didn't Trump fire Comey on Day 1, crash?

Because he wanted to cover his ass with a recommendation from a highly respected professional prosecutor, and that prosecutor was installed April 28.

crash, that was a great post.

Now, DSL, do you think Comey was doing a good job as FBI Director?

You think he actually did this, as the Rosenstein letter states, because he mistreated Hillary? You think Donald Trump couldn't make up his mind about Comey until he'd heard from the man he most respects in the world: Rod Rosenstein?

As I say, Strange, you should actually read primary sources, not Kos or Mother Jones. The Rosenstein letter says absolutely nothing about "mistreating" Hillary. It does paint the picture of an egotistical Director who seeks the limelight. I think that is a fair takeaway from Comey's conduct. He is an INVESTIGATOR and should keep his head down and his mouth shut.

[Dr. Strangelove]

CNN reporting that Senators Burr & Warner, the Republican and Dem heads of Senate Intel, asked Comey to speed up the Russia investigation. Comey then requested more resources from his two bosses. Within days he was fired.