# Comey firing: what should Congress do? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 11, 2017, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327 "2017-05-11T01:51:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327/1 "2017-05-11T01:51:37Z")
Ok, since my last attempt got shuffled off to Buffalo (or IMHO, which is much the same as an SDMB Buffalo, IMHO šŸ˜ƒ ), I will try again. Currently, there are several options being mooted for Congress as a response to the firing. One option Iā€™ve seen is for the Democrats in the Senate to clog up that bodyā€™s work by refusing consent to any item at all (and there are tons of things that get done there by consent, including daily agendas) unless and until a special prosecutor and/or a bi-partisan committee is named. Another option Iā€™ve seen is to refuse to confirm any appointed Director without the naming of a special prosecutor by the President first. Other options have been posited. I would hate to see the Congress bogged down over this. There are some Republican senators starting to flex their muscles (see the vote yesterday or today that refused to overturn the Obama-era methane rules). Hopefully, enough of them will stand up and insist that, if the President truly has nothing to hide, then he should let a non-partisan investigation proceed unimpeded. Does anyone disagree? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327/2 "2017-05-11T02:07:35Z")
Remind me- isnā€™t Comey the eeeevil Republican operative who undermined Hillary and got Trump elected? When did he become a hero and martyr to liberals? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327/3 "2017-05-11T02:08:50Z")
I think that post pretty much tells you how this will go. The GOP gonna GOP. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327/4 "2017-05-11T02:31:37Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Remind me- isnā€™t Comey the eeeevil Republican operative who undermined Hillary and got Trump elected? Chaffetz was the one who leaked the letter to the press. Comey wanted to write an op-ed about Russian interference before the election, but the Obama admin said no. > [@](#): > > When did he become a hero and martyr to liberals? When it was revealed there was an FBI investigation into Trumpā€™s affairs. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327/5 "2017-05-11T02:40:19Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Remind me- isnā€™t Comey the eeeevil Republican operative who undermined Hillary and got Trump elected? > > When did he become a hero and martyr to liberals? Remind me - isnā€™t Trump the guy who praised Comey repeatedly for helping undermine eeeeeevil Hillary and helped get Trump elected only to fire him 110 days into his term? ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327/6 "2017-05-11T02:53:07Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Remind me- isnā€™t Comey the eeeevil Republican operative who undermined Hillary and got Trump elected? > > When did he become a hero and martyr to liberals? This argument is tired and so plainly disingenuous to the point of being ludicrous. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327/7 "2017-05-11T03:08:01Z")
Congress should appoint me as special prosecutor. Itā€™s got to be a six figure gig, with benefits and budget for staff/office space. Iā€™d be up for it. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327/8 "2017-05-11T03:09:12Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Congress should appoint me as special prosecutor. Itā€™s got to be a six figure gig, with benefits and budget for staff/office space. Iā€™d be up for it. Get the money up front. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327/9 "2017-05-11T03:15:16Z")
Impeachment. Enough, already. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327/10 "2017-05-11T04:21:47Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Remind me- isnā€™t Comey the eeeevil Republican operative who undermined Hillary and got Trump elected? > > When did he become a hero and martyr to liberals? Do you seriously believe he was fired because he undermined Hillary, the ostensible reason advanced by Trump? When did conservatives decide that he should be thrown under the bus? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327/11 "2017-05-11T04:42:23Z")
When they remembered it was their bus, and he looked better under it rather than driving it. Over a cliff with a load of nitro and some panicked cattle. Screaming ā€œGeronimo!ā€. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327/12 "2017-05-11T05:00:53Z")
They should appoint a special prosecutor. So who has the power to actually do that, the Senate or Congress or either? It does seem to be that some GOP Senators are very concerned about the firing of Comey and believe it crosses a line so itā€™s not beyond the realm of feasibility. If McCain would actually grow a spine I think heā€™d have enough clout to persuade some other GOP senators to vote with the dems on this. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327/13 "2017-05-11T05:11:42Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Remind me- isnā€™t Comey the eeeevil Republican operative who undermined Hillary and got Trump elected? > > When did he become a hero and martyr to liberals? :smack: I canā€™t be bothered to explain this again. Itā€™s really not that complicated. Just spend a minute thinking - why would it be a problem for the president to fire the person investigating him? > [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > This argument is tired and so plainly disingenuous to the point of being ludicrous. The sad part is, it seems to be working. The right-wing media is circling the wagons on this one, and so tribal thinking kicks in - it doesnā€™t matter that itā€™s stupid beyond belief, itā€™s a partisan thing, ergo it will be believed. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327/14 "2017-05-11T06:04:20Z")
Yeah, letā€™s play chicken with Trump over the fate of the country. Iā€™m sure heā€™ll be so concerned about the country that heā€™l be the first to blink. The thing to do with Trump is impeach his ass and kick him out. Anything short of that depends on his caring about the country, and he doesnā€™t. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327/15 "2017-05-11T08:51:34Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Remind me - isnā€™t Trump the guy who praised Comey repeatedly for helping undermine eeeeeevil Hillary and helped get Trump elected only to fire him 110 days into his term? Trump is now so regretful about winning he wishes that Comey hadnā€™t spilled the beans about reopening the investigation into Clintonā€™s emails so he could go back to being a reality television star worried only about ratings and play golf without the press taking pictures and mocking him. Or, heā€™s angry that Comey didnā€™t manufacture a pretext to convict Clinton. (ā€œPut her in jail!ā€) Either way, what Russian agents? Never heard of 'me. Now, Sherman, letā€™s climb into the WAYBAC machine and go learn some fractured history about how Andrew Jackson was going to stop the Civil War until the Clintons had him assassinated. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327/16 "2017-05-11T09:09:11Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Currently, there are several options being mooted for Congress as a response to the firing. One option Iā€™ve seen is for the Democrats in the Senate to clog up that bodyā€™s work by refusing consent to any item at all (and there are tons of things that get done there by consent, including daily agendas) unless and until a special prosecutor and/or a bi-partisan committee is named. You mean Democrats having a Backbone? Yes, and we should all have a Pony. > [@](#): > > Another option Iā€™ve seen is to refuse to confirm any appointed Director without the naming of a special prosecutor by the President first. Other options have been posited > > I would hate to see the Congress bogged down over this. There are some Republican senators starting to flex their muscles (see the vote yesterday or today that refused to overturn the Obama-era methane rules). Hopefully, enough of them will stand up and insist that, if the President truly has nothing to hide, then he should let a non-partisan investigation proceed unimpeded. Republicans that care about whatā€™s good for the Country? We should all have unicorns! Seriously, have you looked at the behaviour of Republican politicans (Senate and House) in the past years? Before Trump, this is the Party that was totally fine to shut down the government of your Country to get the Budget they wanted. They found it acceptable to Keep one seat on the Supreme Court empty for a year. And then - maybe you remember it? - they agreed to gut Health Care for millions of Americans. In other words, they have selected themselves those politicans who only care about themselves and their rich voters, because they know the base will vote for them regardless of Facts, and if they arenā€™t ā€œpureā€ enough to ideology, some Tea Party crazy might kick them out. So waiting for Republicans to take a stand is like waiting for hell to freeze over. Waiting for Democrats to Show a Backbone ā€¦ is also difficult, because everytime they try and help the poor People the voters elect the liars who want to screw them over. So if they stand up, they are likely going to be punished. All that aside, the Republicans neither in the House or the Senate want an Investigation to go Forward, because too many might be implicated themselves. Doing nothing is good for them, doing something will hurt them - why should they act? > **[KING: Of all the strategies to defeat Donald Trump, none is more important...](https://www.nydailynews.com/2017/05/10/king-of-all-the-strategies-to-defeat-donald-trump-none-is-more-important-than-this-one/)** > > I see a lot of people talking about impeachment this morning. I get it. Donald Trump is a scoundrel. This much is undeniable. His firing of FBI Director James Comey is undoubtedly suspicious. If Twā€¦ > [@](#): > > This Republican Congress is not going to impeach Donald Trump. They are all in so deep with him that impeaching him would be an indictment on themselves. They helped get him here. These are the same people, mind you, who blocked President Obamaā€™s Supreme Court nominee for nearly a year simply because they felt like it ā€” effectively stealing the nominee from him. They donā€™t have the guts, backbone, will or moral high ground to impeach Trump. They are down in the dirt with him. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327/17 "2017-05-11T09:18:03Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > All that aside, the Republicans neither in the House or the Senate want an Investigation to go Forward, because too many might be implicated themselves. Doing nothing is good for them, doing something will hurt them - why should they act? > [KING: Of all the strategies to defeat Donald Trump, none is more important than this one ā€“ New York Daily News](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/king-strategy-defeat-donald-trump-article-1.3153040) Iā€™d say ā€œfor love of countryā€ but I donā€™t feel like laughing or crying right now. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327/18 "2017-05-11T11:42:27Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Remind me- isnā€™t Comey the eeeevil Republican operative who undermined Hillary and got Trump elected? > > When did he become a hero and martyr to liberals? Failed knee-jerk right wing response. Hereā€™s the poop: I and many on the left were upset with Comey for 1) the statement that although he couldnā€™t bring charges, Hillary was careless and for 2) the way he needlessly interjected himself into the election process the week before the election, costing Hillary the presidency. In other words, we were upset at the way in which he did his job poorly. Contrast that with the reason he got fired: for investigating the White House and the Republican presidential campaign for collusion with Russians to steal the election. He got fired for doing his job well. Thatā€™s obstruction of justice. It is possible for one person to do his job poorly at times and well at others. Obama would have been perfectly justified to fire Comey for doing his job poorly with respect to Hillary. What he got fired for was doing his job well with respect to the Russian election scandal. So you canā€™t call us hypocrites for being upset when he did the job poorly when you fire him for doing his job well. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327/19 "2017-05-11T12:17:30Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Contrast that with the reason he got fired: for investigating the White House and the Republican presidential campaign for collusion with Russians to steal the election. He got fired for doing his job well. Thatā€™s obstruction of justice. The rest of your post highlights the fact that itā€™s not hypocrisy, or even an inconsistency for Democrats to view this negatively. But this statement Iā€™ve quoted is purely theory, at present unsupported by actual fact. Even if you credit the anonymous commentary being reported, the most that is being said is that the President got increasingly upset that the Director wasnā€™t investigating the leaks of information, and instead continued to consider the Russia probe important. Thatā€™s a far cry from what is being mooted by you and other liberals as to the actual reason. Doesnā€™t mean youā€™re wrong, but talking about it as if it is established fact doesnā€™t do you much credit; thatā€™s just partisan whining. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327/20 "2017-05-11T12:20:48Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > The rest of your post highlights the fact that itā€™s not hypocrisy, or even an inconsistency for Democrats to view this negatively. But this statement Iā€™ve quoted is purely theory, at present unsupported by actual fact. Even if you credit the anonymous commentary being reported, the most that is being said is that the President got increasingly upset that the Director wasnā€™t investigating the leaks of information, and instead continued to consider the Russia probe important. Thatā€™s a far cry from what is being mooted by you and other liberals as to the actual reason. > > Doesnā€™t mean youā€™re wrong, but talking about it as if it is established fact doesnā€™t do you much credit; thatā€™s just partisan whining. That is constructive criticism and I thank you for it, but I am confident that the firing will indeed be proven to be obstruction of justice. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-firing-what-should-congress-do/786327.md?page=2)