Comey Fired! Who is covering who?

[BobLibDem]

@steronz

What did Comey say during the hearing last week that was so bad? Honest question, I read about Sally Yates’ testimony but didn’t see much about Comey’s.

He grossly exaggerated the number of emails that were forwarded to Weiner’s account. Still apparently couldn’t resist taking another shot at Hillary.

[steronz]

I thought Republicans were upset about something in his testimony, that doesn’t seem like something they’d care about. Was there anything else?

[DSYoungEsq]

@steronz

I thought Republicans were upset about something in his testimony, that doesn’t seem like something they’d care about. Was there anything else?

He made the assertion by implication that his re-opening of the investigation, and his statement to the media/public that he had done so, had an effect on the election, which made him “sick to [his] stomach”. You can imagine this doesn’t play well with a President who claims that he was elected because of his own positives, not because someone screwed with the Clinton campaign.

[DSYoungEsq]

@jsgoddess

Saying your opponents “carefully gloss over” is an accusation that people are thinking about the question and are not answering it because of their bias.

1. I wasn’t aware I had any “opponents” here. Would you care to point them out? And how, precisely, do they “oppose” me?

2. I do believe that there are several people here in this thread for whom we can accurately say that they are intentionally ignoring the issue I brought up because their bias leads them to believe that the President had a “bad” reason for firing the Director, and they don’t want to be bothered trying to justify the assertion. Which is precisely why I brought up the issue.

[steronz]

@DSYoungEsq

He made the assertion by implication that his re-opening of the investigation, and his statement to the media/public that he had done so, had an effect on the election, which made him “sick to [his] stomach”. You can imagine this doesn’t play well with a President who claims that he was elected because of his own positives, not because someone screwed with the Clinton campaign.

And Trump’s response was to essentially validate Comey’s statement by… firing him for meddling in the election? Allegedly, of course. Crazytown, I tell ya.

[Sage_Rat]

@DSYoungEsq

Lots of people are saying this. But they carefully gloss over the reason why Director Comey is somehow so important to that investigation. That is, what evidence is there that the investigation won’t go on just as aggressively without Director Comey in charge of the FBI?

I would agree that, in real world terms, Comey’s firing doesn’t do much about the investigation.

But the question isn’t what reality is, it’s whether Trump can handle his stress load and make a distinction between what really matters and “that quote from Comey in that newspaper article, ohhhh, that makes me so mad. It makes me so mad!”

While I’m not too keen on most newspapers, I’ve found Politico to seem pretty balanced and truthful in their reporting, and they’re reporting that White House insiders admit that it’s the latter.

Unless you hold that they’re making this up from whole-cloth, I’m thinking that Trump has had long enough to clear out any White House employees who are politically against him. Now we’re left with the ones that are having to deal with a crazy, irrational boss every day, and this is what they’re saying is happening.

[CurtC]

@Fotheringay-Phipps

So far ISTM that the Trump-Russia connection is mostly sound-and-fury, with an enormous amount of resources chasing after shadows and only coming up with yet more shadows. I’m skeptical of the whole issue and tend to think there’s nothing substantive to it, and am not inclined to think Trump has any genuine fears on this score.

While I’m not going to argue that we have solid evidence linking Trump and Russia yet, I’m pretty convinced that someone in his campaign colluded with the Russians on the election shenanigans. Specifically, I think from the timing of things, it’s plain that Giuliani knew about it. And then I would not expect Trump’s team to be smart enough to give him plausible deniability by keeping it away from him.

I hope we can all agree that at the least we need a special independent investigator, not whoever Trump nominates as the next FBI director.

[wonky]

@DSYoungEsq

1. I wasn’t aware I had any “opponents” here. Would you care to point them out? And how, precisely, do they “oppose” me?

2. I do believe that there are several people here in this thread for whom we can accurately say that they are intentionally ignoring the issue I brought up because their bias leads them to believe that the President had a “bad” reason for firing the Director, and they don’t want to be bothered trying to justify the assertion. Which is precisely why I brought up the issue.

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.

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?

[Ravenman]

@DSYoungEsq

And yes, it may be a bit precipitous, but then when has Donald Trump been known for being one who takes his time making up his mind? …

And if it was Russia, why was yesterday the day that things had to happen? Why not tomorrow? Or Monday? Or last week? Or next week? Why fire him when he’s not even in town? Why fire him without even the courtesy of a call to him?

Wait, you acknowledge that Trump acts erratically, then expect us to provide a rational defense of why he apparently acted impulsively at THIS PARTICULAR MOMENT? As though we are supposed to discern why he did not delay a rash decision for another hour, day, week, or fortnight; or why the impulse did not strike him an hour, day, week, or fortnight earlier?

Such a question, if asked in seriousness, is a waste of electrons.

[wonky]

At least some people in the Senate think this is a setback for their investigation.

[Crotalus]

@jsgoddess

At least some people in the Senate think this is a setback for their investigation.

The photo at the top of the story you linked to reveals the real reason Comey had to go: he has long fingers.

[RTFirefly]

@DSYoungEsq

1. I wasn’t aware I had any “opponents” here. Would you care to point them out? And how, precisely, do they “oppose” me?

Maybe she was just using the word as shorthand for “people who are taking the opposite side of an argument or debate from you” ?

[Buck_Godot]

@Fotheringay-Phipps

If I had to guess, it has to with Comey’s recent testimony to Congress, in which he said that it made him slightly nauseous to think that he might have impacted the election outcome. That particular remark received a tremendous amount of media attention. Trump is a thin-skinned petulant guy in general, and if there’s one thing that really sticks in his craw, it’s the notion that his glorious, historic, and record-breaking landslide election is the result of any artificial factors. Declaring in a very public manner that this may well have been so, and adding that you’re nauseous at the thought of it, is one sure way to incur Trump’s wrath. And if you’ve incurred Trump’s wrath you’re not likely to be working for him for long.

Yes, this crossed my mind too. I still think the Russia thing is probably more likely but I think this explanation is also in running, and certainly more likely than Trump suddenly deciding after 6 months that he didn’t like the way Comey handled Clinton (especially given that his mishandling probably gave Trump the presidency).

@RickJay

Key thing here; Grant did not really fire McClernand for writing that letter. If a competent general like Grierson or Sherman had done it Grant would have quietly warned him not to do it again. But he had his bullet to finally fire McClernand and he used it. So while the trigger was that letter, the REASON McClernand was fired was he was a crappy general.

But in order for this analogy to fit, Trump would have to say that the reason he decided to fire Comey right this instant was his insulting testimony, instead he’s going back to crimes 6 months ago.

It would be like Grant firing McClernand a week after writing the letter but saying that he fired McClernand for cheating on an exam when he was a student West Point.

[Steve_MB]

@G0sp3l

Efrem Zimbalist, Jr!!!

Alas, he’s no longer with us. That said, the first EZJ role that came to mind was the voice of Alfred in Batman: The Animated Series, evoking a mental image of him bringing The Donald a Coke on a tray.

[Johanna]

After Comey’s monkeyshines threw the election to Chump, this is the thanks he gets. There’s a proverbial expression for this in Arabic: “To be repaid with the reward of Sinimmar.” The old story goes that Sinimmar was a master architect who, commissioned by a tyrant king, built the greatest palace ever seen. When giving the king a tour of the newly completed palace, they went up to the top of the highest tower. The king threw Sinimmar off there to the ground. To ensure that no palace rivaling his would ever be built. When someone is the key to you attaining your goal—and in return once you’ve used them you destroy them in cold blood—is the “reward of Sinimmar.”

[jsc1953]

@Johanna

After Comey’s monkeyshines threw the election to Chump, this is the thanks he gets. There’s a proverbial expression for this in Arabic: “To be repaid with the reward of Sinimmar.” The old story goes that Sinimmar was a master architect who, commissioned by a tyrant king, built the greatest palace ever seen. When giving the king a tour of the newly completed palace, they went up to the top of the highest tower. The king threw Sinimmar off there to the ground. To ensure that no palace rivaling his would ever be built. When someone is the key to you attaining your goal—and in return once you’ve used them you destroy them in cold blood—is the “reward of Sinimmar.”

Trump may be just stupid enough to think that by firing Comey he is ensuring that Comey is silenced forever.

[Johanna]

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. So this thread brings up thoughts of Don Diego abetting Zorro to enter the secret passage to the Foxcave, where Alfredo already has the Foxsteed saddled up. They had a mechanical switch rigged up in the floor such that when the horse trod upon it the secret camouflaged door to the Foxcave opened.

[Tranquilis]

@jsc1953

Trump may be just stupid enough to think that by firing Comey he is ensuring that Comey is silenced forever.

Or, at least may think him discredited. That won’t stop this shitball of events from gathering mass and velocity as it continues to careen on its course of destruction. The spatter is going to be epic.

[RickJay]

@Buck_Godot

But in order for this analogy to fit, Trump would have to say that the reason he decided to fire Comey right this instant was his insulting testimony, instead he’s going back to crimes 6 months ago.

It would be like Grant firing McClernand a week after writing the letter but saying that he fired McClernand for cheating on an exam when he was a student West Point.

The analogy isn’t perfect, as you must account for the fact Grant was a honest man and very good at his job, whereas Trump, not so much.

[Bricker]

@RTFirefly

Among baseball statistics types, there’s a concept of the replacement-level player. The idea is, sure, that player may suck, but before you get rid of him because he sucks, think of what sort of player you can get to replace him, and whether he’ll be even as good as the sucky player you’re tired of seeing screw up and kill rallies.

Same thing here. In the summer of 2016, the replacement-level player you could get for the position of FBI Director was pretty good; strictly in terms of ability, integrity, and independence, and ignoring the likely political fallout, there was no reason not to replace Comey with the best possible replacement player.

But it’s May 2017. We have a President who is running the U.S. government as if it were his family business, in the style of a Latin American strongman from 50 years ago. In terms of integrity and independence, the replacement player will make Comey look like an all-star by comparison.

The only question is how badly the GOP will fail this gut-check moment, and complete their descent into Banana Republicanism. Because that’s what we’re looking at here.

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.