# Comey Memo: Trump Told Him - Shut Down Flynn Probe **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 16, 2017, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792 "2017-05-16T21:40:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 32
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/621 "2017-06-09T13:38:23Z")
> [@Steken](#): > > Roughly speaking, this is [Paul Ryan’s view of the current kerfuffle](http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/08/politics/paul-ryan-donald-trump-new-to-this/): Ryan’s view is actually accurate to some degree. I’m certain that how Trump is trying to run the presidency is how he ran his businesses and doesn’t realize that this is neither how your supposed to be president, nor how you’re actually supposed to run a business. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/622 "2017-06-09T13:38:41Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > WRT all the above: at this point if you get it you get it, if you don’t you don’t. Not going to keep rehashing this. Yeah, you’re not going to keep rehashing this because you don’t have a leg to stand on. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/623 "2017-06-09T13:41:00Z")
Here’s the full tweet: > [@Donald Trump](#): > > Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication … and WOW, Comey is a leaker. :dubious: :rolleyes: ---
**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:** [June 9, 2017, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/624 "2017-06-09T13:41:19Z")
The most impressive part of the testimony was Angus King coming up with the date that Henry II uttered the “meddlesome priest” line. ---
**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:** [June 9, 2017, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/625 "2017-06-09T13:49:53Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Yeah, you’re not going to keep rehashing this because you don’t have a leg to stand on. OK. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/626 "2017-06-09T14:35:03Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Did he say which section of federal code contains the “abuse of power” law? > > Don’t get me wrong, if he did something like in my hypothetical, I think it’d be very, _very_ bad politically for him. I think it would be an immoral act, bad for governance, etc. I just don’t know which _law_ it would be a violation of. Neither does Comey apparently. [Here’s the clip of the Harvard Law Professor explaining “abuse of power”.](http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/for-trump-abuse-of-power-could-be-as-bad-as-obstruction-963560515810) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/627 "2017-06-09T14:35:21Z")
Yeah, we get it. He loves his business more than he cares about avoiding conflicts of interest. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/628 "2017-06-09T14:36:35Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > The most impressive part of the testimony was Angus King coming up with the date that Henry II uttered the “meddlesome priest” line. I’m pretty sure he had that in his notes; I think he said Comey beat him to using the quote. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/629 "2017-06-09T14:41:36Z")
Trump’s lawyers say they’ll be filing a complaint re: Comey’s “leaking” with the Department of Justice Inspector General’s office. Per CNN: > [@](#): > > The Justice Department, however, has limited jurisdiction over former employees. They can investigate but the remedy in the event of finding wrongdoing would be to make a note in Comey’s file should he ever seek to be employed by the DOJ again. So that should learn him. The “He’s just new” excuse reminds me of George Costanza getting caught sleeping with the cleaning service woman in his office. “Was I not supposed to do that? Was that wrong? Because if anyone, at any point, had told me that that sort of thing was frowned upon…” ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/630 "2017-06-09T15:00:08Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > The most impressive part of the testimony was Angus King coming up with the date that Henry II uttered the “meddlesome priest” line. Yeah that was cool! ---
**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:** [June 9, 2017, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/631 "2017-06-09T15:10:45Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > The most impressive part of the testimony was Angus King coming up with the date that Henry II uttered the “meddlesome priest” line. I’m sure that was researched by some millennial intern who had never heard the phrase before. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/632 "2017-06-09T15:11:00Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > [Here’s the clip of the Harvard Law Professor explaining “abuse of power”.](http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/for-trump-abuse-of-power-could-be-as-bad-as-obstruction-963560515810) I listened to the clip, but it didn’t really answer my question. “The President is not going to be put on trial in a normal criminal court” sounds like it reinforces my position that there’s no real legal crime here. Laurence Tribe appears to be making political arguments, not legal ones. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/633 "2017-06-09T15:17:36Z")
> [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > Ryan’s view is actually accurate to some degree. I’m certain that how Trump is trying to run the presidency is how he ran his businesses and doesn’t realize that this is neither how your supposed to be president, nor how you’re actually supposed to run a business. The debate today seems to have boiled down to whether the president’s actions were (a) indictable, (b) impeachable, (c) inappropriate or (d) merely stupid. The president’s staunchest defenders are flocking to (d). What a world. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/634 "2017-06-09T15:17:37Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I listened to the clip, but it didn’t really answer my question. “The President is not going to be put on trial in a normal criminal court” sounds like it reinforces my position that there’s no real legal crime here. Laurence Tribe appears to be making political arguments, not legal ones. Google misprision. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/635 "2017-06-09T15:20:16Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Google misprision. I’d rather you explain your argument here where we can all read it. Do you have a particular section of federal code in mind? A state law? Some city ordinance? ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/636 "2017-06-09T15:29:17Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Trump’s lawyers say they’ll be filing a complaint re: Comey’s “leaking” with the Department of Justice Inspector General’s office. Per CNN: I love that, at most, all that can happen to Comey is that a note goes in his file, whereas I suspect Trump has much more to lose answering questions to the inspector general. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/637 "2017-06-09T15:57:01Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > How do you get a dinosaur into the White House? With an electoral college win. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/638 "2017-06-09T15:57:34Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I’d rather you explain your argument here where we can all read it. Do you have a particular section of federal code in mind? A state law? Some city ordinance? 18 U.S. Code § 4 - Misprision of felony Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both. (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 684; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(G), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147.) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misprision_of_felony): > [@](#): > > This offense, however, requires active concealment of a known felony rather than merely failing to report it.[7] > > If one knows that one is a target of a Federal investigation, it is illegal under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to erase one’s browser history intentionally. Khairullozhan Matanov was prosecuted for erasing computer records about his friends, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev; he pleaded guilty to a lesser included offense in 2015.[8][9] > > The Federal misprision of felony statute is usually only used in prosecutions against defendants who have a special duty to report a crime, such as a government official.[10] ---
**Author:** ![jkirch26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@jkirch26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jkirch26)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/639 "2017-06-09T16:00:00Z")
Trump knew the Russian story was bunk. Comey knew the Russian story as being perpetrated by the media was disinformation, but couldn’t say it. Trump has been bogged down by this since before he was in office. Comey should have cleared the air more if he truly cared about the country and what the voters want. I imagine in Trumps mind he thought of the investigation as most likely political in nature and nothing more. The bombshell for me is that Loretta Lynch came to Comey told him to refer Hillary’s emails on Weiner’s computer as a ‘matter’, not an ‘investigation’. The AG herself! Comey was compelled to go public about the politically loaded email investigation because he then knew Attourney General Lynch had been compromised by Bill Clinton in the airport tarmac meeting. Talk about obstruction of justice. Also Comey’s motivation for the memos should be questioned. He claimed it was because Trump tweeted about possible recordings when in reality the existance of the memos was leaked before Trump had tweeted about the possibility of tapes. Trump was likely bluffing about the tapes because knew how conversations would be interpreted in the media without proper context that tapes would provide. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/640 "2017-06-09T16:03:12Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > 18 U.S. Code § 4 - Misprision of felony > > Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both. > (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 684; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(G), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147.) > > [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misprision_of_felony): … which means that if Comey thought that Trump was committing any kind of obstruction of justice (a felony), and didn’t report it, he should be imprisoned? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792.md?page=31) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792.md?page=33)