# Ryan and the congressional Republicans to investigate the FBI. **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 6, 2016, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229 "2016-07-06T16:23:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/1 "2016-07-06T16:23:00Z")
[https://www.yahoo.com/news/republicans-attack-fbi-over-decision-clinton-emails-075513976--election.html](https://www.yahoo.com/news/republicans-attack-fbi-over-decision-clinton-emails-075513976--election.html) I thought this deserved its own thread, but feel free to merge with the thread about the FBI report on Clinton’s server. It looks like Paul Ryan and the Republicans in congress think that Comey’s report and the results of the FBI investigation were “surprising and confusing” and that it was “steeped in political bias.” The behavior of congressional Republicans is getting even more ridiculous. I think this is going to be a huge waste of time. In a just universe all these clowns would be voted out of office. I’m just tired of them ☹ ---
**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:** [July 6, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/2 "2016-07-06T16:28:29Z")
As I mentioned in the other thread, having Comey come up to Capitol Hill and grilling him on his decision seems like it would give the opposite of the desired results: Comey will essentially be put in a position of defending Clinton’s actions as not egregious enough to warrant indictment. Then Clinton gets some new talking points, “Well, as Director Comey told Congress…” I mean, it’s not as though he’ll show up and say “I suck and I totally should have recommended indictment but the Clintons get to play be a different set of rules” ---
**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:** [July 6, 2016, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/3 "2016-07-06T16:37:22Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > [https://www.yahoo.com/news/republicans-attack-fbi-over-decision-clinton-emails-075513976--election.html](https://www.yahoo.com/news/republicans-attack-fbi-over-decision-clinton-emails-075513976--election.html) > > I thought this deserved its own thread, but feel free to merge with the thread about the FBI report on Clinton’s server. > > It looks like Paul Ryan and the Republicans in congress think that Comey’s report and the results of the FBI investigation were “surprising and confusing” and that it was “steeped in political bias.” The behavior of congressional Republicans is getting even more ridiculous. I think this is going to be a huge waste of time. In a just universe all these clowns would be voted out of office. I’m just tired of them ☹ I want to like Paul Ryan – not because I agree with any of his ideas but because, like his predecessor, I think there’s a shred of decency there. But then he does this. There’s a reason why Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are effectively at the top of their party. They’ve engaged in the politics of blind rage and destruction. They have no ideas or anything constructive to offer. They’re so afraid of their party’s extremists, and yet they’re only encouraging them with these tactics. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/4 "2016-07-06T16:38:46Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > As I mentioned in the other thread, having Comey come up to Capitol Hill and grilling him on his decision seems like it would give the opposite of the desired results: Comey will essentially be put in a position of defending Clinton’s actions as not egregious enough to warrant indictment. Then Clinton gets some new talking points, “Well, as Director Comey told Congress…” > > I mean, it’s not as though he’ll show up and say “I suck and I totally should have recommended indictment but the Clintons get to play be a different set of rules” This is actually a good point. The republicans could let the damning reports stand on their own – and they were anything but an exoneration. But they just can’t help themselves. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/5 "2016-07-06T16:43:22Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > As I mentioned in the other thread, having Comey come up to Capitol Hill and grilling him on his decision seems like it would give the opposite of the desired results: Comey will essentially be put in a position of defending Clinton’s actions as not egregious enough to warrant indictment. Then Clinton gets some new talking points, “Well, as Director Comey told Congress…” > > I mean, it’s not as though he’ll show up and say “I suck and I totally should have recommended indictment but the Clintons get to play be a different set of rules” Yeah, I’m with you on this viewpoint. What outcome can they possibly be hoping for? It’s not like this summons is a surprise to anyone, either. I’m sure Comey was preparing his talking points for the Congressional follow-up at the same time he was writing the main report. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/6 "2016-07-06T16:54:53Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > As I mentioned in the other thread, having Comey come up to Capitol Hill and grilling him on his decision seems like it would give the opposite of the desired results: Comey will essentially be put in a position of defending Clinton’s actions as not egregious enough to warrant indictment. Then Clinton gets some new talking points, “Well, as Director Comey told Congress…” “…I was merely reckless, stupid and full of hubris. Not a criminal! Vote Hillary!” ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/7 "2016-07-06T17:01:23Z")
Well, we’ve had all the investigations, so it’s now time for the investigations into the investigations. And when they turn up nothing, we’ll have investigations into the investigations into the investigations. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/8 "2016-07-06T17:12:32Z")
He’s bluffing. Comey even has a pretty good reputation with the left, he has principles that he appears to honestly adhere to. The only thing the Pubbies lost here was the fantasy that Hillary would be indicted. Got a nickel says Ms Lynch already pretty much knew where this was going when she promised to defer to the FBI’s recommendation. They can make the effort to keep this somehow at the top of the news cycle, but then Trump will open his pie access orifice, yet again. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/9 "2016-07-06T17:17:49Z")
Ted Cruz, My Jr Senator, had to express [his opinion](http://www.businessinsider.com/ted-cruz-fbi-director-comey-hillary-clinton-2016-7). > [@](#): > > “While I have tremendous respect for the dedicated men and women of the FBI, I have serious concerns about the integrity of Director Comey’s decision, and how it threatens the rule of law,” Cruz said in a statement. > > The Texas senator added: “Director Comey has rewritten a clearly worded federal criminal statute. In so doing, he has come dangerously close to saying that grossly negligent handling of classified information should not result in serious consequences for high-level officials. In a nation where the rule of law is supposed to matter, this is troubling.” Anything to keep his name in the news… ---
**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:** [July 6, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/10 "2016-07-06T17:19:41Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > This is actually a good point. The republicans could let the damning reports stand on their own – and they were anything but an exoneration. But they just can’t help themselves. +1 > [@Gyrate](#): > > Well, we’ve had all the investigations, so it’s now time for the investigations into the investigations. And when they turn up nothing, we’ll have investigations into the investigations into the investigations. It’s investigations, all the way down. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/11 "2016-07-06T17:21:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Ted Cruz, My Jr Senator, had to express his opinion… He sure makes Cornyn look good, though, doesn’t he? Cruz looks like an oily and unctuous funeral director, angling to squeeze a few more bucks from the grieving family. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/12 "2016-07-06T17:22:22Z")
Investgating the FBI is a pointless and stupid waste of tax payers dollars. Sure, the fix was in. It has been since the beginning. But the FBI made a judgement call. How do you prove a conspiracy? There wasn’t one. It was simply a decision made in a politically charged atmosphere. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/13 "2016-07-06T17:24:52Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > He sure makes Cornyn look good, though, doesn’t he? Cruz looks like an oily and unctuous funeral director, angling to squeeze a few more bucks from the grieving family. Kay Bailey Hutchison was the longtime Relatively Sane Republican Senator for the state. Not that I ever voted for her but, compared to the loathsome Phil Gramm & then Cornyn, she wasn’t that bad. Then she retired & Cruz took her seat… ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/14 "2016-07-06T17:36:29Z")
I think we pretty much knew something like this was coming. The Republicans really aren’t after answers as much as they want to get the maximum mileage out of the email issue. It’s 100% political, but it’s all they got. Ryan is becoming the poster child for prevention of child abuse. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/15 "2016-07-06T17:45:51Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Got a nickel says Ms Lynch already pretty much knew where this was going when she promised to defer to the FBI’s recommendation. The Republicans fell for Lynch’s perfectly executed feint. If she hadn’t “recused” herself, she’d be in the hot seat for not over-ruling the FBI’s recommendation to not indict. But since she’s removed herself from the process, at the request of Congress, they won’t be able to ask her to go back. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/16 "2016-07-06T18:05:02Z")
Dumb move by the Republicans. I thought they knew better. It’s easy to throw out all kinds of accusations and allegations in an unofficial capacity and that feeds the base. But when you start an official investigation, you have to follow the rules of evidence and that’s when it blows up in your face. The Republicans just experienced this with Clinton. They were getting a lot of mileage out of accusing Clinton of crimes. But they pushed it too far and started an investigation that cleared her. Now it looks like they’re going to repeat that mistake with Comey. They should remember the McCarthy rule: you can make all the wild accusations you want but never let yourself get put in a position where you have to prove anything you’ve said. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/17 "2016-07-06T18:13:34Z")
Because when the liberal side of the story is currently “look how many millions of dollars they wasted on Benghazi” and “look how obstructionist they are being over Supreme Court appointments” you really need to double down on how you waste taxpayer dollars and create an obstructionist government for political gain rather than showing that perhaps, maybe, you learned something. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/18 "2016-07-06T18:14:26Z")
Are the Republicans going to investigate the other Republicans who concluded that there was no smoking gun in Benghazi too? Because they were just so sure they’d find something. Then when that investigation comes up with nothing, some more Republicans could investigate the investigation of the investigation, until they run out of members to investigate each other. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2016, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/19 "2016-07-06T18:18:29Z")
Posted in a different thread, but it is more relevant here. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/07/06/republicans-may-be-blowing-it-on-clintons-emails-they-have-only-themselves-to-blame/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/07/06/republicans-may-be-blowing-it-on-clintons-emails-they-have-only-themselves-to-blame/) > [@](#): > > Republicans may be blowing it on Clinton’s emails. They have only themselves to blame. > [@](#): > > And Trump went further at a rally, accusing Clinton of an effort to “bribe” Attorney General Loretta Lynch. This charge is apparently based on a single sentence in a recent Times piece which claimed: “Democrats close to Mrs. Clinton say she may decide to retain Ms. Lynch.” The insinuation, spelled out by Trump and echoed widely on twitter yesterday by even some on the left, is that the Clinton campaign, and even Clinton herself, offered Lynch a job as a way of swaying the investigation’s outcome. But anyone who knows how D.C. works knows that there are probably hundreds of people in this city who are eager to tell reporters that they are “close” to the Clintons. There is no way to fairly read this reporting, at least as it was transmitted there, as any kind of official position of the Clinton campaign, let alone of the candidate. Maybe Clinton does intend to retain Lynch, but there’s no basis for asserting this or extrapolating anything from it until her campaign or she says so. > > So, yes, Trump is already overreaching. But some Very Serious Republicans may be doing the same. Now Paul Ryan’s House Republicans will hold hearings into Comey’s recommendation, and he is calling on the FBI to release all of the information that went into that decision, because it “underscores the belief that the Clintons live above the law.” Interestingly, Ryan appears somewhat uncomfortable with the implications of his criticism. In his statement, Ryan carefully highlighted his “respect for the law enforcement professionals at the FBI,” but no matter: He essentially suggested that the bureau had placed Clinton “above the law.” Many other Republicans, including others of the Very Serious variety, are making similar suggestions while calling for a special prosecutor. > > To be clear, there isn’t necessarily anything wrong with pressing Comey for more detail justifying his decision. It’s true that Comey’s statement contained a wealth of new details that undercut some of Clinton’s previous claims and, in his words, showed an “extremely careless” treatment of classified information. We need to know more about how and why all this nonetheless led to his conclusion that no illegal “grossly negligent” conduct occurred. > > But the looming question here is one of degree, and Ryan, too, should be pressed to justify his suggestion that the FBI placed Clinton above the law. As we’ve already seen with Benghazi, Republicans don’t ever stop, no matter how many investigations fail to turn up that single devastating piece of evidence of Clinton perfidy and lawbreaking they are looking for. The same may prove true in the case of the emails. As Bloomberg Politics puts it, Ryan is basically helping Trump “whip up conspiracy theories over the FBI process” in a manner designed mainly to “rally the base,” but which “may do little to convince general election voters” that the fix was in. > > Democratic strategist Robert Shrum predicts that Republicans will overreach once again on the emails: “I think it will go about as well as the Republicans did on Whitewater or Benghazi or anything else. I just think it’s fundamentally over.” I wouldn’t dismiss the possibility that Clinton, whose trust numbers are dismal, could sustain further damage. But GOP overreach now looks like a very real possibility. If so, the problem here isn’t necessarily just Trump. It’s the broader GOP willingness to play these games to “rally the base.” And it’s possible this will be priced into the broader public reaction to GOP criticism of Clinton over the emails, perhaps helping mitigate what could otherwise be more damaging. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2016, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/20 "2016-07-06T18:33:58Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Posted in a different thread, but it is more relevant here. > > [https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/07/06/republicans-may-be-blowing-it-on-clintons-emails-they-have-only-themselves-to-blame/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/07/06/republicans-may-be-blowing-it-on-clintons-emails-they-have-only-themselves-to-blame/) The GOP should put Issa in charge. I want to hear what was in those classified e-mails. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229.md?page=2)