DOES JIM COMEY'S CONSCIENCE HAUNT HIM?
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How does former F.B.I. Director James Comey sleep at night? If it wasn't for Comey, Hillary Clinton would likely be President of the United States today. If it wasn't for Comey, America would not be in such disarray because Donald Trump would probably not be sitting behind The Oval Office desk. If it wasn't for Comey...Jim Comey himself would perhaps still have his job as F.B.I. chief. So again I ask...how does James Comey sleep at night?
On October 28th, 2016, eleven days before the presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump...Comey submitted a letter to Congress that was the utmost "October surprise." In the shocking and devastating communication, Comey wrote..."In connection with an unrelated case, the F.B.I. has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation" in to the private email server that Mrs. Clinton had used while she was Secretary of State under President Barack Obama. That "unrelated case" involved former Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner's sexually explicit conversations with a minor. As part of that investigation, the F.B.I. discovered some of Hillary Clinton's emails on Weiner's laptop. Weiner's wife - Huma Abedin - was a close aide and personal friend of Mrs. Clinton. Abedin had backed up thousands of Secretary Clinton's emails on Weiner's computer. A number of F.B.I. agents thought Mrs. Clinton had hidden certain so-called "missing" messages from the Bureau and they wrongfully assumed that it was those emails that were the ones found on Weiner's laptop. Two days before the election, Comey announced that the emails were meaningless and that they added no new reflection whatsoever on any possible illegal activity by Secretary Clinton. But by that time, the damage had been done and Comey's correspondence to Congress had put doubts in the minds of some voters who otherwise would have cast their ballots for the Democratic nominee. Prior to Comey's letter, Secretary Clinton was ahead in the polls by 6 points. Some surveys had her beating Trump by an even bigger amount. However, after Comey's letter, Mrs. Clinton's lead was cut in half...and it was downhill from there. Many Americans stayed home on election day and didn't vote at all. Some decided to jump ship by supporting the opposition - the Republican nominee - Donald Trump.
I remind you that Trump was able to claim victory because of only three states in the Electoral College - Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - even though Mrs Clinton won the popular vote by about three-million people. Unfortunately, the old-fashioned Electoral College remains our system for electing a president. As a result, the 2016 election came down to a mere 77,744 votes out of 135,500,034 ballots cast. Trump won Michigan by 0.2 percentage points (10,704 votes)...Pennsylvania by 0.7 percentage points (44,292 votes)...and Wisconsin by 0.7 percentage points (22,748 votes). If Secretary Clinton had won all three of those states, the scoreboard would have shown Mrs. Clinton with 278 electoral votes and Trump with 260 electoral votes, which would have moved
Hillary Clinton - along with former President Bill Clinton - back in to The White House. A total of 270 electoral votes were needed to win the presidency.
Professional political strategists and pollsters have noted that since Secretary Clinton lost Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, each by less than one percentage point, Comey's letter to Congress likely affected the outcome of the presidential race as it helped Donald Trump to be elected. Therefore, the now infamous letter could have easily swayed 77,744 people to vote for Trump...or an Independent candidate...or it affected enough voters to be so angry with each of the candidates - not to mention our political system altogether - that they totally ignored the election.
So what was Comey's reason for writing his letter? Did he have an ulterior motive of any kind? Does Jim Comey feel guilty for writing the letter? Through my exhaustive research I have not been able to find any reference by Comey where he actually uses the word "guilt." Maybe he can't speak of guilt because he truly has none. Or perhaps he's riddled with guilt...and just can't admit it to anyone but himself. However, that being said, in a June 30th, 2018 interview with veteran journalist Katie Couric at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colorado...Couric asked Comey, "Do you feel responsible for the election of Donald Trump and the current state of the union?" Comey doesn't use the language that his conscience should be dictating. "I don't (feel responsible). But...it is a heavy burden. It leaves me feeling mildly nause(ated). I've devoted my whole life to institutions of justice that want nothing to do with elections. The most powerful norm I've lived under is you take no action in the run-up to election that might have an impact on the election. I believe in that, to my core. My problem was, I couldn't find a door labeled 'no action' on October 28th. I could see two actions, and they were both really bad. And so look, I feel sick to my stomach about it, but in an odd way, I don't feel responsible because I'm proud of the way we made the decisions." But Comey admitted to Katie Couric that when he gave his original public statement about Hillary Clinton's emails, "I screwed it up. 'Extremely careless' was a stupid term to use. I should have said, 'really sloppy.'" But between his announcement and explanation regarding Secretary Clinton's emails, and his letter to Congress...Comey told Couric..."I've succeeded in pissing off everyone." You got that right Jim.
As for the future...Comey told Katie Couric..."I hope to be forgotten. I hope that someone will establish that what I did had absolutely no impact." That's never going to happen Jim. Not anytime soon. Not ever.
Although James Comey didn't want to have an "impact" on the 2016 election...he did. Comey not only broke protocol...he defied it. As I wrote in my column from November 1st, 2016..."It was 2012 when the Attorney General Eric Holder formalized in a written memo that the Department of Justice must safeguard their 'neutrality and non-partisanship.' The F.B.I. director is an employee of the D.O.J. and he is supposed to abide by the practices and guidelines implemented by that department. But according to a Justice Department official who was interviewed by The New Yorker, '(Attorney General Loretta) Lynch asked Comey to follow Justice Department policies' and to, therefore, not write the letter to congressional leaders. The New Yorker says...'(Comey) said that he was obliged to break with them because he had promised to inform members of Congress if there were further developments in the case. He also felt that the impending election created a compelling need to inform the public, despite the tradition of acting with added discretion around elections.' Shame on you, Jim. You had no right to make such a decision on your own. Your actions - eleven days before the presidential election - were irresponsible. One former senior Justice Department official - who also spoke with The New Yorker, but asked the magazine not to identify him or her because of ongoing cases involving the D.O.J. - responded to Comey's letter by saying..."You don't do this. It impugns the integrity and reputation of the candidate, even though there's no finding by a court, or in this instance, even an indictment.' The bottom line is...Director Comey was wrong."
So in the dark of night, what is James Comey thinking about when the demons invade his mind and nightmares awaken him in the middle of a deep slumber? Does Comey's conscience haunt him? Does he ever shout in to his pillow and admit the following to himself? "This is all my fault." I suppose we'll not know the truth for many years, if ever. But perhaps the generally decent and honorable Jim Comey will come clean in thirty or forty years...before he finds himself ready to march off in to the sunset...and skyward to the heavens above.
And that's The Controversy for today.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
"We'll talk again."
The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions. Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.
Please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above. And thank you for reading The Controversy.
Photo credits: Today and NBC News (James Comey #1), United States Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation (James Comey's Letter to Congress), J. Richards-AFP/Getty Images (former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump), Getty Images and CNN (former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton), Craig Turpin/Aspen Daily News (Katie Couric and James Comey) and Alex Brandon/Associated Press (James Comey #2)
Copyright 2018 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net. All Rights Reserved.
Gary, I was really hoping when I saw your title “DOES JIM COMEY'S CONSCIENCE HAUNT HIM?” that you came out of the dark side and into the light on Comey’s misdeeds, lies and corrupt actions but you didn’t. Comey oversaw two of the most unethical corrupt investigations in the history of the FBI and possibly in the history of US law enforcement. One he let off the hook for her crimes against America. He let her associates that lied to investigators get away with it even granting many of them immunity, allowed them to destroy evidence, allowed a biased top FBI official to reword Comey’s own statement to try and cover the illegal acts by the target of the investigation. He failed to fairly investigate an unethical meeting between the AG and the husband of the target when in my opinion they were cutting deals and making agreements so the target would never be indicted. He failed to turn it over to prosecutors to decide to possibly indict her or for them to send the facts to a Grand Jury to make the decision. Instead he took it upon himself breaking process and protocol and let her off the hook. The list goes on and on with all the unethical and many illegal acts done during this investigation by not only Comey but his team. The other investigation he allowed agents of the FBI and DOJ to lie to the FISA Court to gain a warrant to spy on a political campaign for the sole purpose of getting political “dirt” on a presidential candidate. Using a document that was paid for and funded by the Candidates opponent, the target of the first investigation that Comey let off the hook, he allowed agents to work the case that were conspiring to create an insurance policy on how to stop the Candidate from winning and if he won how to stop him from taking office. This was one step away from a banana republic political coup. After a recommendation by the Assistant AG Comey was fired by the President for incompetence, Comey then illegally leaked FBI memo’s to friend for the purpose of getting them to the media and getting his friend Mueller appointed as a special counsel. That’s how we got where we are today with a special counsel reinterpreting laws (in some cases just making up new laws) to make them fit their investigation, coercing, pressuring witnesses/suspects and even blackmailing them to lie. Today we have a Federal Judge looking into how the FBI handled the Michael Flynn case, was he lied to by the FBI, told not to have a lawyer present and entrapped by Comey’s agents. I guess my hope was shattered of you coming to the light, you stayed on the dark side blaming everyone else for your flawed, crooked candidate’s loss. Trying to make it a bad thing that President Trump beat Clinton fair and square. I can still hope and pray for your redemption someday, we will have to wait and see.
ReplyDeleteMy response to the above reader will be in three parts.
DeletePART ONE OF THREE
Wayne, I certainly do discuss James Comey's "misdeeds." I've written in the column above and in other editorials over the last 2 years that Comey was wrong in writing the letter to Congress. As for "lies and corrupt actions," Comey is a lot of things but he is not a liar. "Corrupt" is somewhat of a gray word. I do think that Comey lacked integrity by going against then Attorney General Loretta Lynch's wishes by writing the letter, which was a policy set by former Attorney General Eric Holder (described in my column above). As I write in my column, hopefully someday we will learn the truth as to why Comey did what he did.
Comey didn't let anybody "off the hook." If you are referring to Hillary Clinton (which you do not specify)...you'd be wrong. It's Republicans like you who continue to drag Secretary Clinton's name through the mud. You seem to forget, Wayne - because you have selective thinking - that not only did Comey and the F.B.I. exonerate Mrs. Clinton, but CONGRESS DID!!! Republicans who controlled both the House and the Senate (which means the committees too) said that Hillary Clinton did NOTHING wrong for her to be prosecuted for ANYTHING. There was no "destroyed evidence." So you can say that Comey "oversaw two of the most unethical corrupt investigations in the history of the F.B.I. and possibly in the history of U.S. law enforcement"...but you'd be WRONG!!! You can spew your venom about President Clinton and A.G. Lynch's tarmac chat, but there is no proof whatsoever that any deal was made between them about Secretary Clinton.
Wayne, you really have gone off the deep end. You have no facts whatsoever that "agents of the F.B.I. and D.O.J. lie(d) to the FISA court." I can't even continue with your lack of facts and your drivel. Wayne you are creating a conspiracy theory that simply doesn't exist.
Your comment that Trump fired Comey "after a recommendation by the Assistant AG" is not correct. (And by the way, he's not an "Assistant." Rod Rosenstein is Deputy A.G.). Wayne, you can't change facts. Donald Trump told NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt that firing Comey was all on him (Trump). The following is the dialogue between Trump and Lester Holt.
DONALD TRUMP: "I was going to fire Comey, my decision."
LESTER HOLT: "You had made the decision before they came in the room?" (They meaning Rosenstein and the D.O.J.)
DONALD TRUMP: "I was going to fire Comey." (He went on to say...) "I was going to fire regardless of recommendation."
As for Trump firing Comey because of "incompetence," that too is not true. Whether you believe it or not, Trump told Lester Holt in that May 11th, 2017 interview on NBC..."And in fact when I decided to do it, I said to myself, I said you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story, it's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won." Trump admitted that the Russia investigation was his reason to fire Comey. It's right there, Wayne, in black and white. But I have explained all of this to you and other readers for more than a year. However, you Trumpers can't get it through your thick heads that the facts tell it all.
GBD
END OF PART ONE OF THREE
PART TWO OF THREE
DeleteAs for James Comey "illegaly leak(ing) F.B.I. memos"...that's not true either. Comey was no longer with the F.B.I. when he gave the information to his friend (a Columbia University law professor) to give to The New York Times. It was his own personal emails and those emails were NOT classified. There was NOTHING ILLEGAL about what he did. Being a whistleblower is NOT illegal. The law states the following. To be considered a whistleblower in the United States, most federal whistleblower statutes require that federal employees have reason to believe their employer violated some law, rule, or regulation; testify or commence a legal proceeding on the legally protected matter; or refuse to violate the law. Comey believed that Trump was violating the law because - as Comey testified before Congress - he believes he was fired because Trump wanted to put an end to the Russia investigation.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has not been "re-interpreting laws" and he certainly has not been "making up new laws." Wayne, you are out of your gourd. Nobody has been "coerc(ed)" or "pressur(ed)." And Mueller has not "blackmail(ed)" anybody "to lie." You need to stop singing the same out of tune song. You're repeating yourself from other comments you've made in the past. Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York - who have no connection to Mueller's investigation...who are career prosecutors...who are independent of Trump, of Mueller, of everybody...have made their conclusions based on FACTS.
And, of course, you go back to the same old story that I am "blaming everyone for your flawed, crooked candidate's loss." First of all...Hillary Clinton was NOT crooked. That has been prove over and over again. Secondly, EVERYBODY is flawed in some way. We are humans. And thirdly...as I have always said...my opposition to Trump has nothing to do with Mrs. Clinton losing. You can use that as your mantra, but again Wayne...you'd be wrong.
GBD
END OF PART TWO OF THREE
PART THREE OF THREE
DeleteAs for Trump beating Secretary Clinton "fair and square"...federal prosecutors and a federal judge have - in essence - stated that Trump did not win the election fair and square. Prosecutors from the Southern District of New York this week stated (and the judge agreed in his sentencing of Michael Cohen) that Trump was complicit in a crime because Trump "directed" Cohen to commit a crime by paying hush money to a porn star and a Playboy Playmate so they would keep quiet about sexual flings with Trump. And that the money was paid because if the word got out before the election, it would influence certain voters' decisions to likely not vote for Trump. That is a crime, Wayne. That is a felony. That is against campaign finance laws because such valuable information affected the outcome of the election. And Trump is going to resign and he will probably be indicted either before or after. There is nothing in the U.S. Constitution that prohibits a sitting president from being indicted. And unless Mike Pence - when he takes over after Trump resigns (or is impeached and removed from office) - pardons Trump (as President Ford did for Richard Nixon) - then Trump could end up behind bars someday. And if Letitia James - the incoming New York attorney general - can prove that Trump committed crimes with The Trump Organization, then those crimes would not fall under any pardon by Pence. And Trump could still end up being..."locked up."
All of this is coming to a head, Wayne...and you and your Trumper cronies will be crying your eyes out when you see Trump wearing an orange jumpsuit to match his hair.
GBD
END OF PART THREE OF THREE