Trump has fired Comey.

[davidm]

@galen_ubal

Roughly concurrent with grand jury subpoenas being issued for associates of Michael Flynn.

Interesting timing.

[MEBuckner]

According to the New York Times Comey himself found about his own firing when he saw a news story on a television that happened to be running in the background while he was talking to some FBI employees. :eek:

On the one hand:

Good riddance. He had been doing a terrible job since last summer and the whole “Clinton e-mails” investigation; and then the October Surprise thing was just beyond the pale…

On the other hand:

Holy shit! Does anyone really believe Trump fired Comey for treating Hillary Clinton unfairly? Give us a fucking break! And there are reports–from today–of subpoenas being issued in the Flynn-Russia investigation. Something is rotten in the state of the Trump Administration (but then again, we already knew that, didn’t we?).

[Senegoid]

@MEBuckner

Something is rotten in the state of the Trump Administration (but then again, we already knew that, didn’t we?).

Something is also rotten in the state of Republican Congress, which seems unenthusiastic about delving into this for realz. After Monicagate, we (bleeding heard leftist libruls) all thought the idea on an uncheckable special prosecutor was an abomination – and now, surprise! surprise! We all think that’s just what we need again! This Congress isn’t going to do it.

I predict, unless some major smoking bombshell blows up, that this will all just blow over and nothing will eventually come of it.

[Ambivalid]

@Senegoid

I predict, unless some major smoking bombshell blows up, that this will all just blow over and nothing will eventually come of it.

Yep. Just like everything else.

[TriPolar]

What an opportunity! Now Joe Arpaio can be the new FBI Director!!

[UltraVires]

@BobLibDem

“Thanks for your help in getting me elected, but you’re fired.” What an ungrateful prick.

I shed no tears for Comey. Obama should have fired him for the news conference in which he lambasted Hillary after deciding not to prosecute her. His meddling in the election is inexcusable, so good riddance.

But surely he isn’t being fired for throwing the election. He’s being fired because his investigation is beginning to hit too close to home. Republicans will stonewall the hiring of a special prosecutor, which is what should happen. Maybe they can bring Bork back to fire the special prosecutor. This all smells like coverup.

So if Obama would have fired him it would have been a wonderful exercise of executive discernment, but because Trump did it, it is bad?

[running_coach]

@UltraVires

So if Obama would have fired him it would have been a wonderful exercise of executive discernment, but because Trump did it, it is bad?

Remind me of how Obama was being investigated by the FBI.

[Merneith]

@UltraVires

So if Obama would have fired him it would have been a wonderful exercise of executive discernment, but because Trump did it, it is bad?

If Trump had condemned Comey’s actions last October, or if Comey had been fired before he started investing Trump’s Russian connections, maybe it would have been less laughable than Trump’s current attempt to pretend that the Russian investigation (which, by the way, Comey said three times that Trump was not a target of the investigation, so he’s totally cleared,) has nothing to do with firing the man running the Russian investigation.

[Merneith]

Also, on Twitter, Kellyanne Conway says that she can name lots people around Donald who aren’t being investigated by the FBI for Russian Colusion. What more can poor Donald do?

Jim Sciutto

Jim Sciutto‏Verified account @jimsciutto

On CNN, @KellyannePolls says she can name many people around Trump who are not currently under investigation for colluding with Russia

[UltraVires]

@Bricker

So pretty much everyone who called for Comey’s firing should have praise for this action, yes?

I don’t. I never thought Comey should have been fired then, and I don’t now. I viewed him as a neutral investigator on the Trump case and the Clinton case. This is a very bad development, in my view.

I disagree. He is a weasley little guy who wants to win both sides of the debate. Did Hillary break the law? Then prosecute. If not, then dismiss it. Did Trump collude with the Russians (and break whatever in the hell that law is)? Then prosecute. If not, shut up.

This “he may have/she may have” is not what we expect from the FBI. We want hard answers not vague statements.

[galen_ubal]

Heh. Just saw this tweet from Edward Snowden.

This FBI Director has sought for years to jail me on account of my political activities. If I can oppose his firing, so can you.

[Chisquirrel]

Shit, I’m agreeing with Bricker and Snowden at the same time?

Hell hath truly frozen over.

[galen_ubal]

As for Comey, as a devout liberal…I don’t know what to make of him. He’d made his bones nationally by standing up to Bush on warrantless wiretaps, and had a widespread reputation as a non-partisan straight shooter. Then, last July and October, he did two blazingly clumsy sets of statements. Even taking him at his word, it demonstrates a lack of political canniness that he just can’t have. You don’t get to his position without a certain level of political skill.
I’ve joked before, wondering whether anyone had checked on the status of his wife and children. Now I’m starting to wonder if some pressure is being applied to him - not seriously, but this is all so weird. Heck, it’d even explain why the scolding he gave in July, and the overblown reveal in October, were so very clumsy.
Like I say, I’m not serious about this - just wild speculation.

[UltraVires]

@Constitution

The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows

Note it doesn’t say the FBI director, the CIA director, the Attorney General or anyone else. The President.

[Merneith]

@UltraVires

Did Trump collude with the Russians (and break whatever in the hell that law is)? Then prosecute. If not, shut up.

The investigations are ongoing. The FBI just today (before Comey’s firing) sent out grand jury subpoenas. Trump just fired the guy who was running the FBI’s investigation, but tried to blame it on the whole email situation. In firing Comey, Trump is trying to skip straight to the ‘shut up’ phase. Hopefully, it’s going to unleash a torrent of people talking.

I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up about Republicans doing the right thing, but … this is not business as usual.

[galen_ubal]

@Merneith

The investigations are ongoing. The FBI just today (before Comey’s firing) sent out grand jury subpoenas. Trump just fired the guy who was running the FBI’s investigation, but tried to blame it on the whole email situation. In firing Comey, Trump is trying to skip straight to the ‘shut up’ phase. Hopefully, it’s going to unleash a torrent of people talking.

I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up about Republicans doing the right thing, but … this is not business as usual.

Actually, the news broke about the subpoenas today - they were apparently sent out"in recent weeks".
Also apparently, Sessions was asked roughly a week ago to find a reason to fire Comey.

[galen_ubal]

@galen_ubal

Actually, the news broke about the subpoenas today - they were apparently sent out"in recent weeks".
Also apparently, Sessions was asked roughly a week ago to find a reason to fire Comey.

Crap. Now I can’t find my source for the bolded part. Consider it withdrawn, at least until I find it again. :smack:

[galen_ubal]

Ah, here it is.

Senior White House and Justice Department officials had been working on building a case against Mr. Comey since at least last week, according to administration officials. Mr. Sessions had been charged with coming up with reasons to fire him, the officials said.

— Michael S. Schmidt

And on The Hill, as well.

[I_Love_Me_Vol.I]

@Merneith

On CNN, @KellyannePolls says she can name many people around Trump who are not currently under investigation for colluding with Russia

Well, duh!

Lets see… there are the cooks and the gardeners. And that guy who runs the White House bowling alley.

[Merneith]

@galen_ubal

Also apparently, Sessions was asked roughly a week ago to find a reason to fire Comey.

Yeah, that’s roughly what I heard. Bill Kristol, of all people, noted that the date on the letter from DOJ by Rod Rosenstein is today’s date (well, yesterday’s date, now.) The exact same date that’s on the letter of termination. And that guy who wrote it has only been on the job for two weeks, so it’s not like there’s been some careful analysis by the DOJ that Trump was just following their recommendation.

So clearly, the Trump clan’s sudden claims to be appalled at Comey’s handling of the Clinton letter are just yet another lie.

NYT has a good article at the mo about how this is all just lying by Donald.

Donald Trump Is Lying Again, Now About James Comey

@NYT article above

There is no reason to believe Trump’s version of the facts and many reasons to believe he is lying. How can I be so confident?

First, it’s important to remember just how often Trump lies. Virtually whenever he finds it more convenient to tell a falsehood than to tell a truth, he chooses the falsehood.

An incomplete list of the things he has lied about include: Barack Obama’s birthplace, Obama’s phone “tapp,” John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Sept. 11, the Iraq war, ISIS, NATO, military veterans, Mexican immigrants, Muslim immigrants, anti-Semitic attacks, the unemployment rate, the murder rate, the Electoral College, voter fraud, the size of his inaugural crowd, his health care bill and his own groping of women.
Continue reading the main story

Second, Trump previously praised Comey for reopening the Clinton email investigation, which was the core of Trump’s rationale for the firing, as Igor Volsky noted.

Third, Trump claimed that he was merely following up on a Justice Department recommendation and released a letter from the department to bolster his case. Yet the timing doesn’t make sense — and Trump aides have already undercut their boss, by acknowledging that he wanted to fire Comey.

As Bill Kristol pointed out, the Justice Department letter was dated the same day as the firing, and the official who wrote it has been on the job for just two weeks — not enough time for a serious review that could have reversed Trump’s previous position.
“So there was no real recommendation from DOJ,” Kristol wrote. “Trump wanted to do it, and they created a paper trail.” Kristol, a conservative, added, “One can be at once a critic of Comey and alarmed by what Trump has done and how he has done it.”