# Comey Fired! Who is covering who? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 9, 2017, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226 "2017-05-09T21:57:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226/181 "2017-05-10T17:34:58Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Are you saying that there are lots of good candidates who would have accepted the position under the last few months of Obama, or under Clinton, but who would refuse to work for Trump and are thus unavailable as replacements? > > Because if you are. . . that’s actually a pretty good point. I’m chuckling because I’m recalling the way in which Vice Admiral Bob Harward described his thoughts on being on the short list for (or perhaps even offered) the job of national security advisor: he called the job a “shit sandwich.” ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226/182 "2017-05-10T17:39:05Z")
Regarding timing: [Comey sought more money for Russia probe days before he was fired](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/05/10/comey-sought-more-money-for-russia-probe-days-before-he-was-fired-officials-say/?hpid=hp_hp-banner-main_comey1pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.c473c9cef962). > [@](#): > > Last week, then-FBI Director James B. Comey requested more resources from the Justice Department for his bureau’s investigation into collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, according to two officials with knowledge of the discussion. > > Comey, who was fired by President Trump on Tuesday, made the request in a meeting last week with Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, and Senate Intelligence Committee members were briefed on the request Monday, the officials said. Less and less mysterious. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226/183 "2017-05-10T17:41:03Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I’m chuckling because I’m recalling the way in which Vice Admiral Bob Harward described his thoughts on being on the short list for (or perhaps even offered) the job of national security advisor: he called the job a “shit sandwich.” Not that I’m on anyone’s short list for anything, but in the fantasy world in which Trump pulled my name out of the phone book to offer me a job, I’d accept a judicial appointment but refuse (politely) anything else, under the theory that once confirmed as a judge I’d be relatively immune from being pressured to do something unethical and my tenure would outlast the President’s. So, yeah, that reasoning makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226/184 "2017-05-10T17:45:29Z")
> [@](#): > > When I think of Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., (after first thinking of Efrem Zimbalist, Sr., because I love some good classical fiddle) along with the FBI show I think of his last role as Don Diego de la Vega, if I remember correctly, Zorro’s dad. Don Diego was Zorro. Yes, Zimbalist played his dad, Don Alejandro. For one season (show went four). Think he didn’t like working in Madrid. Looks like a bit of guest work after that - looking at his filmography, I watched several of those shows. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226/185 "2017-05-10T19:01:25Z")
As a man with an inherited lifestyle, who was CEO all his life, the one thing that all the firings have in common is that the person was _insubordinate_: 1. Flynn lied to Pence 2. Yates refused to support her boss 3. Comey said he was “sick to his stomach” over affecting the election CEO’s get into power by building alliances and syncophants - it is all about loyalty when you are climbing the corporate ladder, not “continuance of democratic institutions” or “non-political functionaries”. Trump the CEO has seen the above three people acting in unloyal, insubordinate ways, and he’s done the one thing a CEO knows how to do - fire people. So, yeah, it’s possibly Russia, but really, I think it’s an extension of his training as corporate boss - you fire people who don’t do _you_ right. And in the corporate world, a CEO who gets rid of his head of security when that guy is heard saying “I’m sorry for my role in making this guy my boss\*” is only doing his job. No wonder Trump is frustrated. 😃 \*Not what Comey said, but what Trump heard. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226/186 "2017-05-10T19:18:16Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > As a man with an inherited lifestyle, who was CEO all his life, the one thing that all the firings have in common is that the person was _insubordinate_… I really disagree, they all have a connection to the Russian investigation. If Trump had been outraged by Flynn’s behavior, he wouldn’t have waited 18 days to fire him, he also wouldn’t have had his counsel call Yates back the day after the briefing to ask why the Justice Department was interested in Flynn. Flynn was fired in an attempt to contain the scandal. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226/187 "2017-05-10T19:19:54Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Are you saying that there are lots of good candidates who would have accepted the position under the last few months of Obama, or under Clinton, but who would refuse to work for Trump and are thus unavailable as replacements? I think the point is, there are lots of good candidates whom Clinton or Obama could have - and likely have - picked, who are at least as good as Comey. But we can’t imagine Trump’s pick being any better than Comey. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226/188 "2017-05-10T19:33:49Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I really disagree, they all have a connection to the Russian investigation. Yes, it really is this simple, yall. He probably didn’t like Comey professing nausea at the thought he influenced the election, but out of all the things that has come out of people’s mouths in recent days, that is nothing! Especially since Comey also said he’d do the same thing all over again. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226/189 "2017-05-10T20:01:29Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > I think the point is, there are lots of good candidates whom Clinton or Obama could have - and likely have - picked, who are at least as good as Comey. But we can’t imagine Trump’s pick being any better than Comey. Absolutely nothing about Trump (except his superb judicial picks) makes me confident he’ll pick a good candidate. But I’d like to see who it is before I declare he sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226/190 "2017-05-10T20:07:27Z")
I’m still putting down money that McCabe will end up getting it (despite there only being a 51% vote requirement), simply because they won’t be able to agree on anyone else. “McMaster appointment”, I shall call it. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226/191 "2017-05-10T20:10:36Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Are you saying that there are lots of good candidates who would have accepted the position under the last few months of Obama, or under Clinton, but who would refuse to work for Trump and are thus unavailable as replacements? > > Because if you are. . . that’s actually a pretty good point. I was more thinking that the factor limiting the 2017 candidate pool would be the unlikeliness that Trump would choose anyone who he couldn’t bend to his will. I think good candidates’ refusal to work for Trump, anticipating that he would fire them as well if they didn’t act as his subordinates, would limit the pool in a similar manner, but not to the same extent. Because I think you’d get some candidates who were aware of the risks, but would be willing to see how long they could keep both the job and their integrity. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226/192 "2017-05-10T20:21:35Z")
I’ve noticed in general in my own company that people’s tenure is inversely correlated to level in the company. You can have a very long term career as a mid-level employee, but the higher you get the more likely you’ll be blamed for some inevitable downturn in your division or the company as a whole and get sacked when they decide to “go in another direction”. (You see the same thing with sports teams as well.) But yet, people keep going for those promotions anyway. I agree it would be a factor with someone who already has a lot going for them and has a somewhat comparable position as it is. But if you can get someone who is very capable but is in a much lower profile job than FBI director who would jump at that opportunity. Once you’ve been FBI director, your resume is set for life in related fields, and if you stand up to Trump and get sacked then it only gets better. For many people, it’s far better to have been FBI director and been sacked than to have toiled in relative obscurity with better job security. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226/193 "2017-05-10T20:31:53Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > So, I’m not allowed to suggest you have any opponents. You are just targeting specific people with accusations of bias for not agreeing with you or not seeing your question as relevant. Got it. To have an opponent, one has to have taken a position. I defy anyone to determine my position on what the President has done on the basis of anything I’ve said in this thread. This was my point. You said I was saying “[my] opponents carefully gloss over”, which imputes to me a motive I don’t have, since I don’t oppose anything anyone is saying here, or any position they are taking. By the way, do you realize that your statements to me on this issue indicate you are the one suffering from a bias here? > [@](#): > > Did the fact that you just ignored what I posted about the Senate count as “intentionally ignoring an issue I brought up” because of your bias? This truly confuses me. Your post about the Senate was made at 11:57 am (my time); my last post here was made some 19 min. earlier. How can I have ignored what I hadn’t even seen, or had a chance to comment on? May I suggest dialing back the hostility? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226/194 "2017-05-10T20:33:09Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Maybe she was just using the word as shorthand for “people who are taking the opposite side of an argument or debate from you” ? Missing the point that I’m not taking any “side” in this “debate.” Indeed, sadly, the fact that my OP wasn’t taking a side appears to be part of the reason this got shuffled off to IMHO from Elections. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226/195 "2017-05-10T20:39:22Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Absolutely nothing about Trump (except his superb judicial picks) makes me confident he’ll pick a good candidate. > > But I’d like to see who it is before I declare he sucks. [Here is a list of four names being considered for interim Director.](http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/interim-fbi-director-likely-to-be-named-as-soon-as-wednesday/ar-BBAYQ9O) Obviously, there’s no guarantee any of them will be asked to become the actual Director. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226/196 "2017-05-11T00:19:05Z")
Remind me please - what is the process for installing a new FBI director? He needs confirmation, right? And it’s just a straight majority vote? ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226/197 "2017-05-11T00:35:50Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > Remind me please - what is the process for installing a new FBI director? He needs confirmation, right? And it’s just a straight majority vote? Yes and yes. An interim director though does not need confirmation. Candidates for that are [being interviewed right now](http://www.npr.org/2017/05/10/527780171/despite-recusal-pledge-sessions-interviewing-candidates-for-interim-fbi-director). ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226/198 "2017-05-11T00:41:31Z")
I just have to add that I’ve seen the suggestion that Donald did the firing because Comey mis-stated facts about the emails in his testimony. This suggests that Trump on some level values truth and accuracy in communication. Really breaks me up. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226/199 "2017-05-11T00:47:53Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > Remind me please - what is the process for installing a new FBI director? He needs confirmation, right? And it’s just a straight majority vote? President nominates, Senate consents by majority vote. The Senate can, however, require a cloture vote to end debate. The filibuster for this type of appointment remains. He serves a ten year term. Interestingly, since the ten-year term limit was created in 1976, only one director has served a full term. Others have resigned, and one prior to Comey was fired. The ten year limit was created by Congress in response to J. Edgar Hoover’s unprecedented service as director from 1924 to 1972 and a general belief that one person serving that long in such a powerful position was not a net positive for the nation. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226/200 "2017-05-11T00:52:28Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > President nominates, Senate consents by majority vote. > > The Senate can, however, require a cloture vote to end debate. The filibuster for this type of appointment remains. I don’t think so. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-fired-who-is-covering-who/786226.md?page=11)