# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/161 "2017-06-04T05:16:27Z")
Well, he could re-state the facts as he knows them, and conclude that no prosecutor would be likely to advance a criminal case. And then editorialize on the propriety of Trump’s actions in tones of such stern disapproval that one might fairly conclude that he regretted that no such prosecution was likely. Worked before. ---
**Author:** ![ganthet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de0a6/32.png) [@ganthet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ganthet)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/162 "2017-06-04T06:29:55Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Comey need not state conclusions about whether what the President did might constitute a crime. Just like witnesses at a trial don’t need to say, “The defendant took my personal property, thereby committing theft in the third degree!” > > Comey has an opportunity to simply say what Trump told him. He doesn’t need to testify that what Trump told him constitutes a crime: it’s up to others to judge that. But I don’t know what Comey will say during his testimony. I can see a scenario that he would lay everything out on the table, and another scenario that he keeps certain parts of the story private. Most witnesses in a given trial are not attorneys who have a great deal of experience as prosecutors (and not bound by a prohibition against opining on ultimate issue type answers). I think it’s a certainty that if Comey testifies that Trump “requested”, with or without the quotation marks, that Comey shut down the FBI investigation, the immediate question from a Democratic senator will be whether, in Comey’s opinion, that could constitute obstruction of justice. He would probably decline to say, in which case he would likely be asked a few dozen hypotheticals to see if he would give that opinion about any sort of similar scenarios. ---
**Author:** ![ThisIsTheEnd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisistheend/32/4713_2.png) [@ThisIsTheEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisIsTheEnd)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/163 "2017-06-04T08:58:04Z")
OK so what’s been reported so far, has gone as far as to pretty much put quotation marks around Trump saying three times, DeNiro style, I hope you can see your way to letting it go, etc. So some Dem senator(s) is going to have the opportunity to ask Comey for his best recollection of the exact quotes. And then the same Dem senator is going to have to opportunity to ask Comey if his impression was that Trump: [ul] [li]Wanted the Flynn investigation shut down[/li][li]Was asking him to shut it down[/li][li]Was ordering him to shut it down[/li][/ul] Posed that way, in that order, Comey can pretty easily answer the first two questions with a “Yes,” it’s there in plain English. On the third, he has four choices: [ul] [li]Directly “Yes”[/li][li]Directly “No”[/li][li]Dodge it and say he can’t read Trump’s mind.[/li][li]Indirectly “Yes,” with a statement that implies a quid pro quo, such as “I can’t read his mind, but he was my boss and [whatever] and you saw the result. I got fired.”[/li][/ul] If Comey doesn’t answer with a direct or indirect “Yes,” then a Dem senator will furnish the answer for him. But anything other than a direct “Yes,” from Comey himself to question 3 and Trump skates (relatively speaking) in terms of the potential damage from this hearing. ---
**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 4, 2017, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/164 "2017-06-04T13:34:44Z")
My sense is that this is going to feel a lot like the confirmation hearings for a SCOTUS justice. The person being quizzed is about 1,000 times smarter than any of the quizzers (especially as regards legal matters) and is unlikely to get tripped up or forced to say something he didn’t mean to say (you can’t handle the truth!). Perhaps he’ll say something like: I’d love to help you out, Senator, but I’m saving all the good stuff for my book-- available from Amazon on Aug 1. ---
**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 4, 2017, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/165 "2017-06-04T14:06:19Z")
I’m sure the Republicans have been working overtime digging into Comey’s past. If he ever cheated playing marbles at recess, they’re going to find it. Maybe one of them will ask him what time it is, and if he says 1:30, they’ll ask him again a half hour later and he’ll say 2:00. Then they’ll say “what is it, first you said 1:30 and now you say 2:00?” Then the Fox channel will have a crawl at the bottom, continuing for the next week “COMEY CAUGHT IN LIE IN TESTIMONY”. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/166 "2017-06-04T14:20:04Z")
Of all the needle in a haystack tasks: finding dishonesty and impropriety in Comey’s pre-2016 past. Well, at least it’ll keep those termites busy and away from further damaging America… ---
**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 4, 2017, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/167 "2017-06-04T14:26:51Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I’m sure the Republicans have been working overtime digging into Comey’s past. If he ever cheated playing marbles at recess, they’re going to find it. Maybe one of them will ask him what time it is, and if he says 1:30, they’ll ask him again a half hour later and he’ll say 2:00. Then they’ll say “what is it, first you said 1:30 and now you say 2:00?” Then the Fox channel will have a crawl at the bottom, continuing for the next week “COMEY CAUGHT IN LIE IN TESTIMONY”. Basketball. I think he got called for traveling once in high school. ---
**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 4, 2017, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/168 "2017-06-04T14:34:31Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Undermining Comey’s credibility only delays the inevitable. The investigation will continue regardless of what he says or the reaction to it. It’s the investigation that will bring down this criminal enterprise masquerading as an administration. If I’m a Republican, I’d prefer to lance the boil quickly, impeach that con man and try to salvage the 2018 and 2020 elections. The investigation may continue, but it only matters if people understand why they should care, and it’s not clear that they do or that they ever will. Meanwhile, Democrats are hopelessly distracted by Trump’s scandals. They have no message right now, and without that, they can’t win, and they can’t remove Trump from office. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/169 "2017-06-04T18:11:02Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > So what? > > Then it’s a good thing I didn’t say that! Frankly, you may actually be correct. But I still didn’t say that. You said that testifying that there had been obstruction of justice would make Comey look like an idiot. Then you changed it to “He wouldn’t testify that he was **told** to do so”. That’s so what? ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/170 "2017-06-04T18:13:21Z")
> [@ThisIsTheEnd](#): > > OK so what’s been reported so far, has gone as far as to pretty much put quotation marks around Trump saying three times, DeNiro style, I hope you can see your way to letting it go, etc. > > So some Dem senator(s) is going to have the opportunity to ask Comey for his best recollection of the exact quotes. > > And then the same Dem senator is going to have to opportunity to ask Comey if his impression was that Trump: > > [ul] > [li]Wanted the Flynn investigation shut down[/li][li]Was asking him to shut it down[/li][li]Was ordering him to shut it down[/li][/ul] > > Posed that way, in that order, Comey can pretty easily answer the first two questions with a “Yes,” it’s there in plain English. > > On the third, he has four choices: > > [ul] > [li]Directly “Yes”[/li][li]Directly “No”[/li][li]Dodge it and say he can’t read Trump’s mind.[/li][li]Indirectly “Yes,” with a statement that implies a quid pro quo, such as “I can’t read his mind, but he was my boss and [whatever] and you saw the result. I got fired.”[/li][/ul] > > If Comey doesn’t answer with a direct or indirect “Yes,” then a Dem senator will furnish the answer for him. > > But anything other than a direct “Yes,” from Comey himself to question 3 and Trump skates (relatively speaking) in terms of the potential damage from this hearing. I’m pretty sure that after 2 it’s already obstruction of justice. ---
**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 4, 2017, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/171 "2017-06-04T18:14:00Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Meanwhile, Democrats are hopelessly distracted by Trump’s scandals. They have no message right now, and without that, they can’t win, and they can’t remove Trump from office. You misspelled Republicans. Nothing is going to get done while this scandal looms overhead. Their only agenda is cutting taxes for the wealthy and they can’t even do that while their felon-in-chief is slowly twisting in the wind. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/172 "2017-06-04T20:34:23Z")
It’s no secret that Traitor Trump is mobbed up. Don’t be surprised if Comey is suddenly found dead or disappeared. ---
**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 4, 2017, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/173 "2017-06-04T21:20:11Z")
It’s nice to be a member of the reality-based community here. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/174 "2017-06-04T21:34:27Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > I’m pretty sure that after 2 it’s already obstruction of justice. Well, you’re wrong. Trump is in charge of the FBI and he can legally ask for something to be shut down. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/175 "2017-06-04T21:52:39Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Well, you’re wrong. Trump is in charge of the FBI and he can legally ask for something to be shut down. Of course the last president who ordered an stop to an investigation lost his presidency. > **[Could President Trump shut down an investigation into Russian hacking?](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/could-president-trump-shut-down-investigation-if-he-wanted-n710051)** > > It's legally possible, though Trump's spokesman says firmly that the new president has no intention of impeding the Russia hack probe. > [@](#): > > Former intelligence officials told NBC News that President Trump would technically have the authority to order an end to the investigation, given that the intelligence agencies report directly to him. But it would be politically disastrous for him to do so, they said. ---
**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 4, 2017, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/176 "2017-06-04T22:22:35Z")
The question will probably be something like: _Mr.Comey, we understand that the president asked you if you could end the investigation into \. Did that come across as the president ordering you to do so?_ I can’t say for sure, but it’s hard for me to imagine Comey answering “yes” to that. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/177 "2017-06-04T22:54:19Z")
He might even believe that. Given his level of sophistication and intelligence, he might even believe that its totally legit for the Prez to talk to his good buddy, the FBI director, and ask for a friendly accomodation. Like, he was _asking_ him, right? Just, you know, could he _see_ it, as a possibility, cut the guy some slack. I mean, if a guy says something nice, a compliment, say…like “This is a real nice army base you got here, be a shame if something were to happen to it”. You’d take that as some kind of threat? ---
**Author:** ![ganthet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de0a6/32.png) [@ganthet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ganthet)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/178 "2017-06-04T22:55:14Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > The question will probably be something like: > > _Mr.Comey, we understand that the president asked you if you could end the investigation into \. Did that come across as the president ordering you to do so?_ > > I can’t say for sure, but it’s hard for me to imagine Comey answering “yes” to that. Since the exact words used and their context will be extremely important, either Comey’s description of the conversation will come in his opening statement or through a more open-ended question, like - “Please describe to us the conversation you had with the president about the investigation on Day X.” Since there have been only rumors about any such conversation, facts will be need to be established before Comey is asked about conclusions. You can bet that some of the conclusion questions following a detailed description of that or any other conversations will be 1) whether Comey has ever experienced or heard about any other similar request to shut down a specific investigation from a president before, 2) his opinion about the propriety of a president making such a request when the investigation is related to the president, 3) how he interpreted that conversation (and Trump’s reaction following any rejection of such a request) as it related to his other conversation with Trump in which Trump allegedly demanded some kind of personal loyalty pledge and Comey only offered a pledge to be truthful, and 4) whether Comey feels like he was abruptly fired because he refused to shut down the FBI investigation and refused to give some kind of loyalty oath to Trump personally and not merely the office of the president. ---
**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 4, 2017, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/179 "2017-06-04T23:07:55Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Of course the last president who ordered an stop to an investigation lost his presidency. > > [Could President Trump Shut Down An Investigation If He Wanted?](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/could-president-trump-shut-down-investigation-if-he-wanted-n710051) True, but he was facing strong opposition in congress. Trump has allies in congress. In fact, Trump was made possible in large part because of the Republican party’s 20-30 year destruction of truth in political discourse. Trump’s not really an outlier when you look at the Republican party as a whole – most of the party now either is extremist or tolerates extremists. Extremism is mainstream GOP now. They have too much to lose to stand by and watch the Constitutional process take its course. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792/180 "2017-06-04T23:22:13Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Of course the last president who ordered an stop to an investigation lost his presidency. > > [Could President Trump Shut Down An Investigation If He Wanted?](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/could-president-trump-shut-down-investigation-if-he-wanted-n710051) Yeah of course. So Trump is obviously guilty because Nixon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-memo-trump-told-him-shut-down-flynn-probe/786792.md?page=10)