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Comey Testimony
Topic Started: Jun 7 2017, 10:57 PM (1,814 Views)
George K
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Finally
His Own Worst Enemy

Jonah Goldberg:

Quote:
 
No one should lose sight of the fact that the president got himself into this mess.

For those who hoped that former FBI director James Comey was going to provide some bombshell evidence — or any evidence at all — that Donald Trump colluded with the Russians to steal the 2016 election, Thursday’s Senate testimony had to be a major letdown. Of course, that was a foolish hope in the first place, since even if such evidence existed, Comey was never going to divulge it in an open Senate hearing.

For Trump’s most ardent supporters, Comey’s testimony exonerated the president. Trump’s lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, responded to Comey’s written testimony: “The president feels completely and totally vindicated.” And in a sense he should.

Comey confirmed what Trump had said when he fired the FBI director last month: Comey had told the president on three different occasions that he wasn’t the target of a criminal investigation. What drove Trump nuts was that Comey wouldn’t say that publicly. Now he has.

But there’s a problem. After the hearing, Kasowitz denied all the damning parts of Comey’s testimony. The president never told Comey “I need loyalty, I expect loyalty,” Kasowitz insisted, and Trump never asked Comey to drop any investigation into Flynn. In short: Comey’s a liar and Trump isn’t.

Given the pains to which Comey went to write down his version of the meeting with Trump, not to mention Comey’s immediate conversations with colleagues and the utter plausibility of his account, Trump’s denials seem thoroughly unconvincing to me. But more to the point, if Comey were inclined to lie, he would have — and certainly could have — invented a far, far more damning story. If your defense is that Comey is a liar, you can’t cherry-pick the helpful bits and shout, “Vindication!”

Ultimately, the most obvious lesson of this unprecedented political fiasco should be the same for both Democrats and Republicans. Many Democrats want to believe in a stolen-election theory that would reveal Trump as an evil genius. The president’s most vocal supporters, starting with the president himself, still insist that he’s not evil, but that he is a genius. Indeed, the president says so himself.

“I know what I’m doing. I’m a smart person. The highest level of smart,” he told People magazine. “People are saying Donald Trump is a genius,” he told the New York Times.

When asked by MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski in 2016 which experts he speaks with, Trump replied, “I’m speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain. . . . My primary consultant is myself, and I have, you know, I have a good instinct for this stuff.”

Who knows what his IQ is, and to be sure that technique worked for him as a candidate. But when it comes to how the presidency works, Trump is an amateur, a bumbler and, very often, his own worst enemy.

Thursday’s hearing was just the latest proof of that. If Trump hadn’t fired Comey, or possibly if he’d just fired him in a sensible and professional manner, Comey might not have testified at all. There almost certainly wouldn’t be a special counsel in the form of another former FBI director, Robert Mueller. If Trump hadn’t violated all good sense and asked for a private session with Comey to ask (allegedly) for loyalty and for him to drop the Flynn investigation, Comey would have had little to testify about, given that he can’t talk about the Russia investigation.

According to Comey, Trump believed the Russia investigation was a “cloud” over his presidency, preventing him from making great “deals” for America. Democrats and the media, desperate to explain away Hillary Clinton’s humiliating defeat, surely deserve their fair share of blame for that cloud. But no sensible person can deny that Trump — with his obsessive tweeting and aphasic outbursts — has done almost everything he can to make that cloud thicker and darker than necessary. It’s like he had a fog machine installed next to his giant TV.

If Trump had simply focused on making great deals for America — whatever that means — rather than obsessing over the Democrat-fueled myth that he was being investigated, he wouldn’t have an approval rating in the mid-30s, and the Democrats would be on their heels. But he opted to rely on his instincts. And now the harshest irony is that, as Comey intimated Thursday, it may no longer be a myth that Trump is being personally investigated. Mueller is now looking at whether the president obstructed justice. I’m inclined to think he didn’t. But Mueller wouldn’t be looking at all were it not for Trump’s super instincts.

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- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

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Horace
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HOLY CARP!!!
I can't wait till jon is forced to read that guy's biography.
As a good person, I implore you to do as I, a good person, do. Be good. Do NOT be bad. If you see bad, end bad. End it in yourself, and end it in others. By any means necessary, the good must conquer the bad. Good people know this. Do you know this? Are you good?
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George K
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Finally
Horace
Jun 9 2017, 08:49 AM
I can't wait till jon is forced to read that guy's biography.
:lol2:
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"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
I must admit, I'm a little confused by the claims that this is a great triumph for Trump. As I said, I haven't been following all the details, but it sure as heck doesn't sound like a great triumph.

Quote:
 
I can't wait till jon is forced to read that guy's biography.


:lol:
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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brenda
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..............
Horace
Jun 9 2017, 08:49 AM
I can't wait till jon is forced to read that guy's biography.
:lol2: Well done, Horace!
“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.”
~A.A. Milne
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Jolly
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Geaux Tigers!
Goldberg writes some good stuff...
The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.- George Soros
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George K
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Finally
Jolly
Jun 9 2017, 09:53 AM
Goldberg writes some good stuff...
And he has a wicked sense of humor.
A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
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Copper
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Shortstop

Posted Image
The Confederate soldier was peculiar in that he was ever ready to fight, but never ready to submit to the routine duty and discipline of the camp or the march. The soldiers were determined to be soldiers after their own notions, and do their duty, for the love of it, as they thought best. Carlton McCarthy
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George K
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Finally
"The dog ate my homework"

Posted Image

Does anyone believe that the most ethical, most compulsive note-taker, in the history of the FBI doesn't have the originals which he leaked to his friend who would supply them to the New York Times?

C'mon.
A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
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Horace
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HOLY CARP!!!
Comey and apparently his brother have been swimming in the money/power of DC for decades now. And both have apparently cashed in bigly.

Quote:
 
Private sector (2005–2013)

In the fall of 2005, Comey announced that he was leaving the Department of Justice.[61] In August 2005, it was announced that Comey would enter the private sector, becoming the General Counsel and Senior Vice President for Lockheed Martin, the U.S. Department of Defense's largest contractor.[62] Comey's tenure took effect on October 1, 2005,[63] serving in that capacity until June 2, 2010, when he announced he would leave Lockheed Martin to join the senior management committee at Bridgewater Associates, a Connecticut-based investment management firm.[64] On February 1, 2013, after leaving Bridgewater, he was appointed by Columbia University Law School as a Senior Research Scholar and Hertog Fellow on National Security Law.[65] He was also appointed to the board of directors of the London-based financial institution HSBC Holdings,[66] to improve the company's compliance program after its $1.9 billion settlement with the Justice Department for failing to comply with basic due diligence requirements for money laundering regarding Mexican drug cartels and terrorism financing.[67][68]


The mind reels at how much value he provided to the economy he made, in those positions in the private sector, which had TOTALLY NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS POLITICAL CONNECTIONS. You want the swamp? Jim Comey is the swamp.
As a good person, I implore you to do as I, a good person, do. Be good. Do NOT be bad. If you see bad, end bad. End it in yourself, and end it in others. By any means necessary, the good must conquer the bad. Good people know this. Do you know this? Are you good?
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Horace
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HOLY CARP!!!
15m net worth currently according to some website at least. Lower than I expected, but still not bad for a guy who's claim to fame is that he entered into public servitude as a government lawyer, right out of law school, and proceeded to follow that humble path.

Gee what is it about politics and money that they seem to go together so often.

At least we're less explicit about it than banana republics.
As a good person, I implore you to do as I, a good person, do. Be good. Do NOT be bad. If you see bad, end bad. End it in yourself, and end it in others. By any means necessary, the good must conquer the bad. Good people know this. Do you know this? Are you good?
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
Comey certainly likes to muck about with national politics, doesn't he? Especially outside proper official channels.

I should think he would be the one charged here.
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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George K
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Finally
Mikhailoh
Jun 10 2017, 03:03 AM
Comey certainly likes to muck about with national politics, doesn't he? Especially outside proper official channels.
Newt's comments:
Quote:
 
Think about it: Comey was the top law enforcement officer in the nation before he was fired on May 9. Had he felt a special counsel was necessary to investigate possible Russian influence in the 2016 election, he could have requested one from Congress at any time. If he felt his conversations with President Trump warranted additional attention, he could have approached Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein about it.

But instead he decided to do nothing. Comey apparently didn’t think there was need for a special counsel until the Monday after he was fired, according to his testimony. In a clear act of retaliation, Comey went outside the system and shared secret information with the media via a college professor-friend, in a calculated attempt to inflict pain on the Trump Administration.
And, now, as I posted earlier, the dog ate his homework.
A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
I think it is known I am not a huge Trump fan. But the more I see of the nonsense going on the closer I get.
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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Horace
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HOLY CARP!!!
George K
Jun 10 2017, 03:07 AM
Mikhailoh
Jun 10 2017, 03:03 AM
Comey certainly likes to muck about with national politics, doesn't he? Especially outside proper official channels.
Newt's comments:
Quote:
 
Think about it: Comey was the top law enforcement officer in the nation before he was fired on May 9. Had he felt a special counsel was necessary to investigate possible Russian influence in the 2016 election, he could have requested one from Congress at any time. If he felt his conversations with President Trump warranted additional attention, he could have approached Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein about it.

But instead he decided to do nothing. Comey apparently didn’t think there was need for a special counsel until the Monday after he was fired, according to his testimony. In a clear act of retaliation, Comey went outside the system and shared secret information with the media via a college professor-friend, in a calculated attempt to inflict pain on the Trump Administration.
And, now, as I posted earlier, the dog ate his homework.
I think we all knew who Trump was. I mean he really does go out of his way to tell people who he is, with Twitter and whatnot.

It's fascinating to get a look-see at what sort of person Comey is. And I have no trouble believing that, in the context of Washington, he really is comparatively a straight shooter.

I just can't tell you how much I love those multi-million-per-year ceremonial positions he fell over backwards into after having achieved prominence in the public sector - then, after making his fortune, turned around and fell back into even higher prominence in the public sector.

I have no doubt that Comey viewed Trump as an outsider and a threat. (And, of course, a joke, but for that election thing.)
As a good person, I implore you to do as I, a good person, do. Be good. Do NOT be bad. If you see bad, end bad. End it in yourself, and end it in others. By any means necessary, the good must conquer the bad. Good people know this. Do you know this? Are you good?
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Kincaid
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HOLY CARP!!!
I can't imagine watching the entire hearing or reading the transcripts, but if any of you took it upon yourself to do that, can you advise if any of the questioning Senators asked Comey if his characterization of Trump's "lies" about Comey and the FBI came from anything other than the MSM's questionable unnamed sources?
Kincaid - disgusted Republican Partisan since 2006.
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Moonbat
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Pisa-Carp
I listened to most of it. He said that the remarks about him and the FBI were 'lies, plain and simple':

See 2.13:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoDxuidPG_U

Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem
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Horace
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HOLY CARP!!!
Moonbat
Jun 10 2017, 01:38 PM
I listened to most of it. He said that the remarks about him and the FBI were 'lies, plain and simple':

See 2.13:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoDxuidPG_U

The remarks he was referring to (which obviously angered him personally) were subjective value judgments. Calling them "lies" just brings the discussion down a level. He's more than welcome to vehemently disagree with the judgments though.
As a good person, I implore you to do as I, a good person, do. Be good. Do NOT be bad. If you see bad, end bad. End it in yourself, and end it in others. By any means necessary, the good must conquer the bad. Good people know this. Do you know this? Are you good?
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Horace
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HOLY CARP!!!
Comey and his reputation were substantially taken down by the deputy AG's letter in recommendation of his dismissal. I noted he didn't even attempt to defend himself from those factual accusations of professional misconduct and failure to adequately lead.

But Comey knows Trump is the easier and more socially acceptable target, and you don't get to where that guy got without knowing how to pick your battles.
As a good person, I implore you to do as I, a good person, do. Be good. Do NOT be bad. If you see bad, end bad. End it in yourself, and end it in others. By any means necessary, the good must conquer the bad. Good people know this. Do you know this? Are you good?
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Moonbat
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Pisa-Carp
Quote:
 
The remarks he was referring to (which obviously angered him personally) were subjective value judgments. Calling them "lies" just brings the discussion down a level. He's more than welcome to vehemently disagree with the judgments though.


Agree.
Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem
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Copper
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Shortstop
Horace
Jun 10 2017, 02:02 PM

The remarks he was referring to (which obviously angered him personally) were subjective value judgments.


Yes, that was pretty obvious at the time.

But using the L word like that guaranteed that the quote would be in every video highlight reel.

The Confederate soldier was peculiar in that he was ever ready to fight, but never ready to submit to the routine duty and discipline of the camp or the march. The soldiers were determined to be soldiers after their own notions, and do their duty, for the love of it, as they thought best. Carlton McCarthy
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Axtremus
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HOLY CARP!!!
Conspiracy:

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/337317-gop-rep-we-have-a-conspiracy-remaining-afoot-at-justice
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Rainman
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Fulla-Carp
Axtremus
Jun 11 2017, 04:52 PM

Quote:
 
In an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “America’s News HQ” on Sunday, Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-TX) said that if anyone interfered with the 2016 presidential election, it wasn’t the Russians but the Department of Justice.

He specifically named former Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former FBI Director James Comey.

Gohmert referred to Comey’s testimony last week before the Senate Intelligence Committee where he said Lynch had told him to refer to the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of classified information as a “matter,” rather than an “investigation,” even though Clinton was under investigation.

Comey said that led him to publicly announce the end of the Clinton investigation in July 2016.

“At best, it was an attempt to manipulate the election, not by the Russians in this case, but by the Department of Justice – the Attorney General herself – because that came from Comey,” Gohmert said.

“[Comey] totally ruined his own credibility – or what was left of it,” Gohmert said. “He did vast damage and raised big red flags and questions over Loretta Lynch’s job as head of the Justice Department.

“[Lynch] was using her official position to help the campaign of Hillary Clinton and that didn’t seem to bother him enough to do a memo,” Gohmert said.

Gohmert said this should be the subject of a congressional investigation.

“We need to round up all those people [Comey] talked to – because we have a conspiracy remaining afoot in the Department of Justice that is going to be out to destroy this president and they’ve got to be fired if not worse.”
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Horace
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HOLY CARP!!!
Not so much a conspiracy, as normal social dynamics when the in-crowd doesn't want a stupid ugly loser to come to their party.

This is exactly what it means to walk into the swamp. He won't drain it, but it's fun to watch it cling to his boots as he oafishly wades through.
As a good person, I implore you to do as I, a good person, do. Be good. Do NOT be bad. If you see bad, end bad. End it in yourself, and end it in others. By any means necessary, the good must conquer the bad. Good people know this. Do you know this? Are you good?
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Larry
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Mmmmmmm, pie!
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Of the Pokatwat Tribe

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