# Comey: nm **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 6, 2016, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-nm/770915 "2016-11-06T23:20:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-nm/770915/41 "2016-11-07T19:59:47Z")
Even had he not said so, how could he claim to have _not_ known that this would impact the election? I don’t need him indicted, much less convicted, not going to benefit from him going off to play tennis at Club Fed for six months. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-nm/770915/42 "2016-11-07T20:00:26Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > The problem is that Comey himself admitted that the reason for his letter was to influence voters… Okay, maybe I missed something big in this story. What exactly did he say? ---
**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:** [November 7, 2016, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-nm/770915/43 "2016-11-07T20:59:24Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Okay, maybe I missed something big in this story. What exactly did he say? I quoted the line in the post to which you’re responding (“I also think it would be misleading to the American people were we not to supplement the record”), but you should probably read his full letter to the FBI for context, which is him explaining why he felt compelled to do this despite it being a week before the election. This strikes me as something of a gray area for the Hatch Act. It certainly isn’t Comey admitting he wanted Trump elected. But he is admitting that he acted, at least in part, out of a desire to influence voters by informing them that the FBI was investigating Clinton. I’m not sure if it is, or should be, a Hatch Act violation to provide truthful information to the public for the purpose of influencing the election. But I think that’s a different issue from whether he had the purpose to influence an election, and raises different and difficult questions. Would it be a Hatch Act violation for the IRS Commissioner to leak Trump’s tax returns? I think if your answer is “yes,” then it’s harder (though not impossible) to distinguish Comey’s conduct. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-nm/770915/44 "2016-11-07T21:26:43Z")
Uh, did he? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-nm/770915/45 "2016-11-07T21:44:00Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > I quoted the line in the post to which you’re responding (“I also think it would be misleading to the American people were we not to supplement the record”), but you should probably read his full letter to the FBI for context, which is him explaining why he felt compelled to do this despite it being a week before the election. God damn it, I wrote a long post and then the board ate it. Not happy. :mad: I thought you were quoting something else than the letter, because that’s awfully weak sauce to infer intent to purposefully interfere in an election. What was missing is the sentence previous, which I think is important context. > [@](#): > > Of course, we don’t ordinarily tell Congress about ongoing investigations, but here I feel an obligation to do so given that I testified repeatedly in recent months that our investigation was completed. I also think it would be misleading to the American people were we not to supplement the record. Quoting one sentence and not the other seems to be selective editing, IMHO. “I did it to inform Congress, and the American people should know too” is not an example of brilliant and compelling reasoning, but it seems a far cry from “I did it to make sure people voted the right way.” > [@](#): > > Would it be a Hatch Act violation for the IRS Commissioner to leak Trump’s tax returns? I think if your answer is “yes,” then it’s harder (though not impossible) to distinguish Comey’s conduct. The standard in the law isn’t whether a particular action has an impact on the election. It is whether something is done with the purpose of influencing an election. Just like how mishandling classified information isn’t automatically a crime, there must be gross negligence or some other level of intent to release classified information to make it a crime. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2016, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-nm/770915/46 "2016-11-07T21:59:16Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Quoting one sentence and not the other seems to be selective editing, IMHO. I implored you to read the whole letter, so if I’m trying to deceive you by selective editing, then I’m doing a terrible job of it. If you click the link I offered in the original post, you’ll see that at least one expert agrees with my assessment (or rather I agree with hers). > [@Ravenman](#): > > The standard in the law isn’t whether a particular action has an impact on the election. It is whether something is done with the purpose of influencing an election. Which I obviously agree with, since this whole argument is about his purpose. I don’t think you can get around his admission so easily. The better defense of Comey is that avoiding misleading is different from leading, and that this purpose is permissible under the right circumstances. But it’s not as straightforward as you think. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-nm/770915/47 "2016-11-07T22:07:59Z")
Well, now, **Richard** , maybe he didn’t _know_ he would have an impact. Bless his heart. Just an innocent lamb, frolicking amongst the daffodils. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-nm/770915/48 "2016-11-07T22:29:26Z")
I cannot believe how angry this makes me. I’m almost ready to start chanting “lock him up!” and to hell with the judicial process! Seriously WTF was his intention? ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-nm/770915/49 "2016-11-07T22:37:27Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > …I thought you were quoting something else than the letter, because that’s awfully weak sauce to infer intent to purposefully interfere in an election. … “I did it to inform Congress, and the American people should know too” is not an example of brilliant and compelling reasoning, but it seems a far cry from “I did it to make sure people voted the right way.” In this you are ignoring the fact that Comey had total and complete control over two crucial elements of his ‘letter eleven days before the election’ action, namely: the _timing_ of the letter’s release, and the _content_ of the letter. We are asked to believe that Comey’s agents withheld from him, _for weeks_, the fact that some emails on Weiner’s laptop might relate to Clinton. Even if you find that plausible (and not everyone does), you must ask yourself: why would Comey choose to make an announcement eleven days before the election—instead of taking a couple of days to get a warrant and run the necessary searches? There is no reasonable answer other than ‘he wanted to harm the Democrats/help the GOP.’ **If he had waited those couple of days then he would have lost the opportunity to hint at indictable offenses being (possibly) discovered on Weiner’s laptop.** To the argument that ‘he had to send a letter to prevent a leak and subsequent uproar’ there are two counters that, as far as I can see, are unanswerable: 1: There _was_ an uproar. His action did not prevent an uproar. 2: He had complete and total control over what his letter said; no one forced him to write a vague and ambiguous letter that could easily be spun as “there’s got to be something here–smoke means fire.” I’ve seen several alternate-text letters posted on this board, including one in this thread by Exapno Mapcase, that would have been perfectly proper ways of conveying ‘we will be looking at Weiner’s laptop when we get a warrant’ without fanning the ‘no smoke without fire’ conspiracy theories. Comey chose to fan those theories. That decision was his and his alone. Comey will, by these actions, have made enough peace with the GOP–which will be very grateful for the impact of his actions on the Senate and House races, at the very least–to ensure a prosperous future for himself. How nice for him. > [@Ravenman](#): > > The standard in the law isn’t whether a particular action has an impact on the election. It is whether something is done with the purpose of influencing an election. … The _timing_ of the letter and the _content_ of the letter–both under Comey’s control–make plain that Comey intended to help out the GOP (if not Trump then at least the Senate and House candidates). ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-nm/770915/50 "2016-11-07T23:11:03Z")
Perhaps not _all_ Republicans, but certainly those incumbent Republicans who would like to remain incumbent. They might very well be grateful. Yes, perhaps. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comey-nm/770915.md?page=2)