# 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:** 35
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/681 "2017-06-09T19:31:44Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > The people in the Primary who put her on the ballot. Nonsense. Again. Whether by fair means or foul, she got onto the ballot for the General Election. Once the general election came around, it became the responsibility of every non-imbecilic, non-America-hating voter to not withhold their vote from the candidate who CAN do the job. ---
**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, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/682 "2017-06-09T19:34:48Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Nonsense. Again. Whether by fair means or foul, she got onto the ballot for the General Election. Once the general election came around, it became the responsibility of every non-imbecilic, non-America-hating voter to not withhold their vote from the candidate who CAN do the job. I doubt that labeling the ~52% of Americans that did not vote for HRC ‘America-hating imbeciles’ is going to win many of them over to your cause. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/683 "2017-06-09T19:37:24Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I doubt that labeling the ~52% of Americans that did not vote for HRC ‘America-hating imbeciles’ is going to win many of them over to your cause. 😉 We’ll see. Maybe some of them would like to atone for their sin. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/684 "2017-06-09T19:41:56Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I doubt that labeling the ~52% of Americans that did not vote for HRC ‘America-hating imbeciles’ is going to win many of them over to your cause. 😉 I didn’t label anyone an America-hating imbecile (although there probably were a few). I mostly saw it as an either/or situation. And the “cause” is to not have an America-hating fuckstick in the Oval Office. I think most of us can get behind that. ---
**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, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/685 "2017-06-09T19:43:21Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > This distinction between Comey’s actions, as opposed to some more personal animus towards him, seems strange to me. Yeah, I’ll bet it does; that’s not in the least surprising to me. > [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I’m curious: Do you guys feel the same way about Trump? You don’t know him, so you make no comment on him personally, you just disagree with his actions? Because the way he gets talked about here sometimes doesn’t seem to fit this narrative. Narrative? What narrative? 😕 I have been exposed to Mr. Trump and his bullshit for almost 40 years. His face, his words and his actions (and more importantly, perhaps, the results of his actions) have been well-publicized for almost 75% of my life. I feel I have enough information, in total, to have formed an opinion about Mr. Trump and his character. Dir. Comey has only impacted my life, prior to his firing and testimony, when he spoke about Mrs. Clinton last year. There is no way I have any opinion on him or his character from the little information and experience available to me; I am still building that opinion. It is, frankly, astounding to me that you would have to ask that question. ---
**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, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/686 "2017-06-09T19:48:57Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/687 "2017-06-09T19:52:36Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Agreed. I was going to start a poll after the hearing asking Democrats & Republicans if Comey was back on their shitlist or if they liked him again, but I couldn’t find the appropriate place to do it. If you’d like one Democrat’s opinion: 1. I think Comey should’ve waited until there was something definite to report about the Weiner Laptop Surprise before saying anything publicly about it. It only took a few days for “it’s a nothingburger” to be the verdict. (As I remember it, correct me if wrong.) 1a) I think a factor that partially explains Comey’s actions last year in a big way is that he – and I, and the MSM, and (probably) Donald Trump – expected HRC would be president right now. Falling to take steps that might hurt future Prez Clinton would – when they came out after the election – be a lever for political attack on Comey and the FBI. So he was, to some degree, stuck with no good options; he made the choice that protected his (and his agency’s) reputation. 1b) Also, hurting future Prez Clinton would probably be fine with Comey because of his political orientation. I’m not saying this motivated him, but it couldn’t’ve hindered him. 1c) Right after the election, Democrats like me lost our shit. Comey cost us the election! Helped elect Trump! Doesn’t matter whether it was on purpose. (Worth noting that there’s a lot of intra-Democratic fighting over who else was to blame: HRC? Weiner? DWS? Various elements of the Denocratic coalition who didn’t turn out to vote? Etc.) 1. All that said, with the benefit of hindsight: Comey didn’t clearly cross any bright professional lines pre-election. That wasn’t obvious in the days before the election: his actions looked potentially biased, and perhaps were to a small degree – but in the cold light of day, they weren’t totally out of bounds. 2. I won’t waste space stating why I think Comey’s post-election actions have been pretty solid. Not perfect, but solid. Certainly more patriotic, professional, and just plain intelligent than our new President’s. Maybe that’s all after-the-fact motivated reasoning on my part. But that’s how I’d defend going from a “Comey’s the goat” to “Comey’s telling the truth” position. ---
**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, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/688 "2017-06-09T19:57:35Z")
> [@snoe](#): > > If you’d like one Democrat’s opinion … Thanks for sharing that. It was fun to read, and insightful. I can agree whole-heartedly with your assessment of Comey’s actions: > [@](#): > > … pretty solid. Not perfect, but solid. Certainly more patriotic, professional, and just plain intelligent than our new President’s. ---
**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, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/689 "2017-06-09T20:02:44Z")
I expect Comey, although nominally a Republican, would have supported Hilary over Trump. Maybe not Hillary over \, but not over Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/690 "2017-06-09T20:07:51Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I doubt that labeling the ~52% of Americans that did not vote for HRC ‘America-hating imbeciles’ is going to win many of them over to your cause. 😉 How did Trump label _his_ opponents to get people to vote for _him_? “We were _forced_ to vote for a scumbag that hasn’t thought of anyone but himself his entire life, made an incredible number of false accusations and threats and actually wrote a book on how treating people like shit and doublecrossing them at every opportunity is the path to success, _just because Clinton hurt our feelings_”. Either be proud of him, or renounce him. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/691 "2017-06-09T20:45:58Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I doubt that labeling the ~52% of Americans that did not vote for HRC ‘America-hating imbeciles’ is going to win many of them over to your cause. 😉 Speaking _ex catheter_, on behalf of the conservative wing of the extreme left…we thank you for your wisdom and guidance, and the generous concern it reflects. Thanks, we’ll take it from here. That said…uh, what? “…(T)he ~52% of Americans that did not vote for HRC…”. Is that a convoluted way of putting a positive spin on losing the popular vote? Besides which, some 40% of Americans didn’t vote _at all_, much less HRC or Il Douche. Are you adding Trump’s vote and votes for “Other” in order to manufacture an agreeable statistic? According to NBC, HRC got 48.2%, Trump got 46.1%, leaving 5.7% spread around to the splinters. So, what? You rounded up to 6% and blended them in to get 52% voted against Hillary? That there is some serpentine thinking. Factual, but misleading. Be careful of that, its not good mental hygiene. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/692 "2017-06-09T20:48:33Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I’m curious: Do you guys feel the same way about Trump? You don’t know him, so you make no comment on him personally, you just disagree with his actions? Because the way he gets talked about here sometimes doesn’t seem to fit this narrative. > [@Procrustus](#): > > Shirley, you can’t be serious. Speaking just for myself, it’s not just I “disagree with his actions,” but that he is a vile person through and through. Plus, everything he says and everything he does. I don’t know Trump personally. I try to judge him on his actions. I try to judge everyone, including myself, on their actions rather than what a swell person they are on the inside. In the case of Trump, _one hundred fucking percent of his actions are thoroughly reprehensible_. Maybe I’m exaggerating. Maybe he goes home and plays catch with Barron and helps around the house. But, as a public figure, his words and actions are thoroughly despicable. Not just politically wrongheaded. Morally bankrupt. At this point, after he’s been a running sore on the US for a couple of decades, I can forgive myself if I attack him in personal terms. ---
**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, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/693 "2017-06-09T21:14:55Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > /snip > > Oh, they had other ones, too. I remember Cotton and somebody else consistently asking about emails. One of those questions brought out the whole “Loretta Lynch ‘matter’”. Rubio and Cotton had a private dinner with Trump on Tuesday, no doubt to plan this very thing. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/694 "2017-06-09T21:20:12Z")
What’s the protocol on that, do they kiss the big gold ring? Or the brown one? ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/695 "2017-06-09T21:22:41Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The Left is manipulating Trump. His anger and lack of experience is making him do dumb stuff. He’s not listening to his advisers. It’s a recipe for failure. The LEft seems to have the meaning “the entire world that is not the Americans adhering to the Republican party” it is not the fault of the rest of the world that he is a short-tempered person who is not very smart but thinks that he is. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/696 "2017-06-09T21:24:39Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > It seems to me that Republicans don’t think or understand; they believe or feel. That is exactly how the mind of how someone who identifies themselves as a ‘conservative’ in the United States operates. I don’t say that to be snarky, either; it’s just something that I’ve noticed over the years. I grew up in a conservative part of the United States and still remain friends with many people who are ostensibly right wing, including aunts, uncles, cousins, and even a half-brother. If it’s not within the realm of their own personal experience, then they don’t identify with it. They live in a world of ‘common sense’ – as they see it and feel it. And it’s almost certainly based on their own personal experiences. They know what they know (or what they think they know) and not a damn thing is going to change their minds. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/697 "2017-06-09T21:26:00Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Nonsense. Again. Whether by fair means or foul, she got onto the ballot for the General Election. Once the general election came around, it became the responsibility of every non-imbecilic, non-America-hating voter to not withhold their vote from the candidate who CAN do the job. In the primary it is the duty of every non-imbecilic, non-America-hating voter to not put a candidate who is deeply unpalatable and corrupt on the general election ballot. ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/698 "2017-06-09T21:48:26Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Agreed. I was going to start a poll after the hearing asking Democrats & Republicans if Comey was back on their shitlist or if they liked him again, but I couldn’t find the appropriate place to do it. Democrat. Comey always seems like an honorable, intelligent civil servant trying to uphold the integrity of the FBI as best he could. As mentioned upthread, a classic boy-scout. I realize he was trapped between a rock and a hard place when it came to the Hilary Clinton investigation - while I think the last minute announcement before the election was likely just enough to put the final torpedo into Clinton’s chances at the presidency, he had to report what he did or else the FBI’s integrity would have been trashed post-election when the truth came out (or it would have been leaked anyway by lower level FBI employees before the election anyway). I don’t blame him for that, regardless of the outcome. ---
**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, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/699 "2017-06-09T21:51:04Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Speaking _ex catheter_, on behalf of the conservative wing of the extreme left…we thank you for your wisdom and guidance, and the generous concern it reflects. Thanks, we’ll take it from here. > > That said…uh, what? “…(T)he ~52% of Americans that did not vote for HRC…”. Is that a convoluted way of putting a positive spin on losing the popular vote? Besides which, some 40% of Americans didn’t vote _at all_, much less HRC or Il Douche. > > Are you adding Trump’s vote and votes for “Other” in order to manufacture an agreeable statistic? According to NBC, HRC got 48.2%, Trump got 46.1%, leaving 5.7% spread around to the splinters. So, what? You rounded up to 6% and blended them in to get 52% voted against Hillary? > > That there is some serpentine thinking. Factual, but misleading. Be careful of that, its not good mental hygiene. It wasn’t an attempt to put a positive spin on anything. It was a response to this: > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Once the general election came around, it became the responsibility of every non-imbecilic, non-America-hating voter to not withhold their vote from the candidate who CAN do the job. Presumably, from **kaylasdad99** ’s perspective, that candidate was HRC, and not Johnson / Stein / McMullin (or Trump). ~52% (yes, technically the figure is 51.82%, I think. I rounded.) of American voters failed that “responsibility”, at least in **kaylasdad99** ’s eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/700 "2017-06-09T21:54:14Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > In the primary it is the duty of every non-imbecilic, non-America-hating voter to not put a candidate who is deeply unpalatable and corrupt on the general election ballot. Then they failed miserably. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792.md?page=34) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792.md?page=36)