Did Trump Ask Comey to End the Flynn Investigation?
NYT says yes, White House says no…
According to The New York Times, former FBI Director James Comey wrote a memo on February 14 that President Donald Trump asked him to let go of an investigation into Michael Flynn, the former national security advisor.
However, the NYT admitted that the reporters did not see the memo and “a Comey associate read parts of it to a reporter over the phone.” The source (remember the source isn’t even Comey) claimed the memo said this:
“I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” Mr. Trump told Mr. Comey, according to the memo. “He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”
Comey allegedly shared the memo with other senior level officials and they all “perceived Mr. Trump’s comments as an effort to influence the investigation.” But they all agreed not to say anything about the conversation so the comments “would not affect the investigation.”
Okay…..
The White House immediately denied the report:
“[T]he President has never asked Mr. Comey or anyone else to end any investigation, including any investigation involving General Flynn,” an official said. “The President has the utmost respect for our law enforcement agencies, and all investigations. This is not a truthful or accurate portrayal of the conversation between the President and Mr. Comey.”
I don’t know about you, but as a journalist or blogger or however you want to characterize me, I don’t like stories, especially big ones, coming from word of mouth. I need concrete proof. It looks like it may happen:
.@GOPoversight is going to get the Comey memo, if it exists. I need to see it sooner rather than later. I have my subpoena pen ready.
— Jason Chaffetz (@jasoninthehouse) May 16, 2017
NEW: House Oversight chair sends letter to FBI requesting Bureau to provide Comey memo "no later than May 24, 2017." https://t.co/N4tvhDqa98 pic.twitter.com/sSkgKs6jjw
— ABC News (@ABC) May 17, 2017
Wait. Didn’t Comey already testify about Russia? He did! Why no mention of his own memos?
Imagine Comey testifying before Congress but no mention of Pres request to close Flynn investigation https://t.co/rl1boKnKNN
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) May 16, 2017
Comey also cleared Flynn…
https://twitter.com/MinorcaPullets/status/864639958941704192
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Comments
This is an utter bull hockey of a story.
It has all the hallmarks of FAKE NEWS: Anonymous sources–pure innuendo. The Trump people should adopt a policy of not responding to claims made by anonymous sources based on zero evidence.
Tell me that James Comey himself (aside–why didn’t someone in the media ask Comey directly if this was true before running this smear?) has stated, under penalty of perjury, that this is true, then you have a story.
But if he were to do so, the first follow up question to Comey ought to be: why did you sit on this for months, instead of promptly bringing it to light at the time it occurred? Because if it is true, Comey committed a felony.
I call Bull Hockey.
The media has become worse than Josef Goebbels. I am getting the feeling it might soon be coming to the time for patriots to start taking direct action.
Propaganda, pure and simple.
But I don’t think silence is the answer – Bush tried that, and we all know how BDS became a living organism over his 2 terms.
Exposing the anonymous sources, refuting with truth – and not tweeting in ways that imply there is some grain of truth to the propaganda……..that is the better way to handle, IMHO.
FAKE NEWS = the US media today.
Tucker Carlson 5-15-2017
“[W]ith Trump, all bets are off. Many journalists believe it’s literally impossible to be unfair to Donald Trump or the people who work for him. Extremism in the pursuit of Trump is no vice.”
If Comey felt that there was a legal case for Obstruction of Justice – he was required By Law to inform the DOJ 3 months ago. Not informing the DOJ was in itself a prosecutable offense.
Quick and Easy Test to Determine if it’s most probable it’s a LIE.
Is it from the New York Slime? It’s a BIG LIE!
Widely reading all sorts of histories has made me aware that the NYT is well into it’s 2nd century with a long, long proven history of lies, and supporting liars….
That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.
Why didn’t Comey report this immediately to AG and Justice Department? Only came out after he was fired. He is a prima donna drama queen and a liar.
How is the NYT’s lie Comey’s fault?
Has he corrected it?
No. Ergo, liar.
Because the only way anyone would have known about the “Memo” was if Comey told them. Comey knows that if he was hoping for payback by revealing his diary, then he must have known about the obstructing of justice charge that would accompany it. The only thing that I can see that would be his motive is for him to finally come forward and claim that he didn’t say in his diary that Trump asked him to stop the investigation but simply to go lightly with it. That way he has smeared Trump but saved his own skin for not reporting an attempt at obstruction.
Read the Matt Musson comment. It is all explained in two sentences.
I’ll have to check with a more reliable source before I believe this story. I’m sure Michael Moore will comment soon.
This is like watching those old movies where the peasants panic and take up torches and pitchforks threatening to burn down the town. The difference is that in our case, it’s the elite establishment, the ones who control everything who HAVE taken up torches and pitchforks and ARE beginning to burn down the town.
This is really getting out of control. If they do succeed in getting their impeachment of Trump by their endless campaign of groundless and meritless hysteria, I hope that is not the end of the story. We peasants will have to respond with force. If ever there was a legitimate call to arms, surely a successful coup by bureaucrats would qualify.
It’s not like things would return to normal. It would mark the end of the world as we knew it and….. what? I don’t want to find out. Let’s do everything we can to put an end to this right now. Somehow, having a President Pence who did nothing to stop this is not acceptable to me. In fact, I expect the next president would be an empty figurehead.
You are right. But if Trump is hounded out of Office on some bogus charge – it will be a wake up call that the System is beyond repair. And, look for another surge of gun buying as Conservatives realize they are on their own. Also, look for a wave of migration to red states as our countrymen prepare for whatever comes after.
I think it will be worse than that. The corrupt establishment got caught so wrong-footed by voters electing Trump that they are openly negating last November’s elections.
Keep in mind that Trump wasn’t elected by conservatives or Republicans only. He was elected by disaffected voters of BOTH parties plus unaffiliated independents like me. The voters successfully rejected the corrupt uniparty even when handicapped by rigged primaries and rampant voter fraud. The establishment can’t believe that they lost an election that they rigged! Now they are not only confirming that voters were right but that it is so much worse than we believed!
I don’t know how this ends but if we don’t start seeing some grown ups, it’s not going to end well. We are on the brink of nuclear war with everything electronic compromised and being led by a traitorous government determined to revoke the Constitution and our national sovereignty and replace it with… what? We may be about to find out. These guys are playing for keeps. Are we?
Remind us all.
What happened in France with their equivalent of Michelle Obama
quipped “Let them eat cake?”
Very well put Phil!
RE: “The establishment can’t believe that they lost an election that they rigged! Now they are not only confirming that voters were right ….”
I’ll have to check with a more reliable source before I believe this story. I’m sure Michael Moore will comment soon. LOL!
The intel leak story took a nose dive right out the door, so they had to go back to their fall back position – the Russian collusion story. Even if they had to make up a fake memo to circulate through the fake media outlets. Hopefully someone will finally get to do a perp walk soon.
Where is Dan Rather on this memo?
For Comey to come out with such a statement is to sully his reputation and credibility. As Hillary would gladly say, what difference does James Comey matter, at this point?
Did Obama ask Lois Lerner to harass conservative political groups? Did Hillary ask Bill to talk to AG Lynch about her investigation? Sadly, the media will never ask questions like this.
The NYslimes says the “memo” is not classified but they haven’t read it…
Pull the other one.
More prog and nevertrumper bullshit.
http://nypost.com/2017/05/12/comey-declines-senate-invite-to-testify-in-closed-session/
Comey was supposed to testify before the Senate today, but instead he decided to leak to the NYT anonymously. Why is he so afraid to testify under oath?
Assuming for the sake of argument we should pay any attention to this, after all it is the New York Times not known for reporting actual facts as opposed alternative facts …. or fantasy, if I were going to subpoena anything, it would be the memo and all electronic files and metadata relating to it since the date of the meeting in February. That would be so I can see exactly how it was massaged and edited … and is still being massaged and edited.
Comey was asked to end the Flynn investigation (yes, his contemporaneous words have more weight than a White House that has trouble saying true things) and when he didn’t, he was fired. Y’all are defending the indefensible.
Then where is this (non-existent) memo? Why isn’t Comey out in front of the cameras making this claim? Why didn’t he come forward the day after it happened? Who can believe a clown who can’t get basic facts straight?
This story has more holes than swiss cheese!
Correction: An unnamed source ALLEGES that Comey was asked…
Big difference.
That’s right, I remember now, Comey immediately resigned in protest.
No, wait, Comey gave a press conference explaining he was fired because he was told to end the Flynn investigation.
No, wait, Comey immediately reported this to his boss at justice and to the appropriate congressional committee.
No, wait, I got it. Comey wrote his own precious little snowflake memo and showed it to a comrade. Who then read it to the New York slimes. But, even though it is not classified, the NY slimes hasn’t read it, nor can they just print it for us.
Yep, I believe that’s it. Trump is guilty for sure.
1) What contemporaneous words? There’s no reason to suppose this memo even exists.
2) What investigation? As Ms Chastain points out, on Feb 14th, when this conversation is supposed to have taken place, Flynn was not the target of any investigation. Therefore the president could not possibly have interfered with one, even if he’d wanted to.
Thanks, Barack.
Then Comey is in violation of several sections of US Code requiring him to report that at once. He can now be perp walked into Congress
Fake news.
I wonder what his notes say about the Hillary emails? About Seth? About the IRS?……..
…and if all those little notes were tucked away in a folder in his office labeled ‘For book deal after term is up’
There’s a darned good reason Comey was fired while away from his office. Hopefully, Sessions managed to bag all of his records before some helpful subordinate(D) dragged them to the shredder. They’d make interesting reading.
That was my first thought when I found out he was fired when visiting the LA office. I hope they sealed his DC office and have seized his computer.
I’m going to write something, and please don’t throw tomatoes or eggs at me. Or if you do, please be polite about it.
If I’m president of the United States, and I’ve just gotten into office, and the opposing party including the media, is hounding me over things that I know are nothingburgers, absolute nothingburgers, and I have an FBI director, or any appointee, who works in MY branch of government (the FBI isn’t in the constitution, but the Prez is), then why WOULDN’T I discuss with him a particular case. I’m the chief executive. The witch hunt is wasting money and manpower. I know it. It’s my job to see the right things are prioritized.
Frankly, I would want to know exactly why the thing wasn’t closed out. I would go further; before I said I want the thing closed out, I’d say, I want to see all the files, I want your staff to show me EVERYTHING so I understand the situation and can make an informed decision on it.
This idea the FBI director is king, no thank you. And the idea he’s king, yet all the crimes dems got away with? Puh-lease.
And by the way, this tape from Trey Gowdy got me going in this direction:
http://dailycaller.com/2017/05/16/gowdy-clinton-doj-connections-run-deep-video/
He says he now knows why Comey said what he said last summer, “exonerating” Clinton, but that we, the American people may never know. History will treat Comey kindly.
Well, frankly, I’m tired of all these secret investigations. Put it all out there and let us sort it out. This is B.S. I wish someone would leak all the details of every domestic investigation we’ve got going to Wikileaks, so we can see who is innocent and who is full of contrarian baloney.
Funny, I saw Gowdy talking exactly about this. I didn’t hear the word “exonerating.” Please give a precise cite.
Pardon me; I was paraphrasing and used the quotation marks inappropriately.
Chaffetz has demanded all Comey/Trump memoranda from McCabe by the 24th.
Formal letter citing his authority to investigate obstruction.
That will settle someone’s hash. If the published comment is the best they’ve got, I’d say it will be embarrassing.
It’s the progs / nevertrumpers, Pet.
They don’t do embarrassment.
(hedging off the Fox news website here)
So the theory is that Comey wrote himself a memo after every meeting with the President in order to keep his facts straight, a habit that (as I understand) lawyers do so they don’t forget things.
And this theory is that after Comey’s meeting with Trump on Feb 14, he wrote a memo that described Trump’s (alleged) attempt to get him to drop the investigation on Flynn.
(Fox) Under the law, Comey is required to immediately inform the Department of Justice of any attempt to obstruct justice by any person, even the President of the United States. Failure to do so would result in criminal charges against Comey. (18 USC 4 and 28 USC 1361)
So it is May 16 now.
If in Comey’s judgment, Trump tried to obstruct a legitimate investigation, he’s waited in silence three months and until after he was fired before bringing it up, which does not look good for… Comey.
If in Comey’s judgment, Trump did *not* try to obstruct a legitimate investigation, this whole press spasm is worthless.
I’m suspecting the answer is “B”
Lets just for a second accept that the memo is a true account of what happened. The fact its been realised now doesn’t that make this black mail?
Instead of reporting this as he should have immediately he instead held on to it for 3 months, supposedly for protection or to use at a later date when needed.
Troubling indeed but don’t hold your breath waiting for the media to start asking the “right” questions.
I agree, the Blackmail option is spot-on, in this Trump-Hate fiasco.
On the contrary, assuming the memo exists, revealing it is revenge, the very opposite of blackmail. Blackmail would be a threat to reveal it if the president fired him, but there’s been no hint that such a threat was ever made, or that Trump had any idea of the memo’s existence (again assuming it does exist, which I don’t).
obstruction of justice did occur and Comey damn well knew about it.
Bill Clinton meeting in an airport with the Attorney General was exactly that.
Lynch and Clinton, guilty.
Let’s see that “memo” Comey / NYslimes.
Let’s move on – leave these corrupt rats in the dust and keep undoing the damage of a fraud calling himself ‘Barack Hussein Obama.’
While we’re at it, primary-out every rat of the GOPe.
I think what is the most disturbing thing these reports – this one in particular – is that all these anonymous sources and “officials familiar” with the issue/situation/etc. are BELIEVED as truth when they are in reality nothing but innuendo, hearsay, and gossip – if not outright LIES.
What also deeply concerns me: the NYT is considered “the paper of record.” So, when our children or future generations go back to look for an historic record of what happened re: Trump, or in the year 2017……the NYT “reporting” will be seen as a reflection of REALITY, of HISTORY, of FACTS, rather than the propaganda and agitprop that is really is.
The press has a responsibility – and they are abdicating that responsibility for political ideology, for an agenda. The end justifies the means. Dangerous, dangerous times.
(This, of course, is true of the WaPo as well, but to a lesser degree.)
Cue Dan Rather to chime in about the truth in 3, 2, 1…
Comey swinging at the plate before the ball is thrown = President Trump has recordings. But, even though these contradict what Comey is telling us, he knows this one proven fact: “He who delivers their message first, wins”.
It’s all about “winning” with this bat-sh1t-crazy Leftist/Feminist-Cult crew, afterall …since when did honesty, truthfulness, factual and evidence packed statements mean anything with this unhinged group?
If Comey keeps his job the memo never comes out. If Comey gets fired it does. Just shows Comey was not the straight shooter, but a very vindictive petty jerk.
Didn’t the FBI clear Flynn on the Jan 24th…three days BEFORE Comey met with Trump? Why would Trump ask Comey to drop it when Flynn was already cleared?
That New York Times article has a timing problem.
http://i.magaimg.net/img/jnh.png
New book out
“Letters to Comey”
Hit number 1 on the NY Times fiction list.
Also, re: the above-cited statutes: Those appear to me on first glance to violate the principle of separation of powers.
How could the legislative branch require a subordinate of the executive branch to be not subordinate to the President….
Just thinking.
A senior official in the Trump administration, who previously worked on the president’s campaign, offered a candid and brief assessment of the fallout from that string of bad press: “I don’t see how Trump isn’t completely fucked.”
Hmmmm…..
Here’s proggy pushing another prog website. Include the link for us proggy.
This could get interesting. At least for Comey.
In the first place, any memo that Comey wrote, as part of his duties as Director of the FBI, is subject to FOIA release, with a few exception. This alleged memo does not appear to be covered by any of the statutory exceptions. So, it should be available for public perusal. Let’s see if it ever surfaces. If it does, that should give us some idea why it was written and who may have written it.
Now, the timeline on this supposed memo is niteresting in itself.
January 20, 2017: Trump inaugurated.
January 23, 2017: FBI closes the Flynn]Russian ambassador investigation.
February 13, 2017: Flynn resigns as NSA.
February 14, 2017: Comey allegedly composes a memo concerning, among possibly other things, a conversation in which Trump asked if he could see his way clear to letting go of the Flynn investigation.
This is interesting as that particular investigation was concluded three weeks prior to the memo being written and there does not appear to be any particular reason for the memo to be authored at that time. If such a conversation took place, during the Flynn investigation, then documenting it, at that time, would make sense, if Comey felt it was improper. But, if the conversation did take place and it had no effect on the investigation, then there would be no need to document it at all. Except as potential blackmail information. Something that may have been tried. If it was, then the Trump tweet about “tapes”, after the Comey firing, would make more sense.
Once again, this is all much ado about nothing. Members of Congress, the Cabinet as well as every President in history, since the establishment of the FBI, has inquired as to the status of FBI investigations and, in some cases, have sought to influence them.
On the horizon we have several prominent incidents which are going to cast significant light on just how independent the FBI really is. We have seen the FBI Director “decide” that HRC should not be prosecuted for violating the laws governing the handling of classified material, after setting out a prima facia case for prosecution for said violations. The investigation into the Clinton Foundation has been languishing for years [the FBI broke the Mafia in less time than it is taking to investigate a registered charity]. There seems to be NO investigation into the unmasking and leaking of the names of Americans caught in government surveillance activities, including whether any improper or illegal direct surveillance of American citizens occurred. And, we have the Seth Green angle to the DNC server “hack”. The last could be catastrophic for the Democrats’ attempts to cast Russia as an ogre and Trump as a Russian dupe. Taken together, it raises a significant question of the independence of the premier law enforcement agency in the USA.
Depending upon what is eventually learned, this could lead to a whole ‘nother level of government corruption.
Story up at gateway pundit thats says comey testified in front of congress may 3 and in response to direct question asking if Trump interfered in or attempted to influence investigation he said no
This story has nothing to do with Comey, and everything to do with the lack of reporting ethics as the New York Times.
https://www.reddit.com/r/The_Donald/comments/6bqt6a/actual_journalist_tim_pool_so_basically_someone/
https://youtu.be/Jcy0ZxlE0f8
Listen to one of the authors explain how that article came to be.
Good catch Valerie.
To summarize, the NYslime reporter that broke this story says that a acquaintance of Comey that claims he has seen the memo, recounted from memory what was in it. Over the phone. But the NYslimes did “diligence”…
It would be hard to make this stuff up.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/05/03/read-the-full-testimony-of-fbi-director-james-comey-in-which-he-discusses-clinton-email-investigation
Washington Post transcript of Comey’s May 3, 2017 Senate testimony — gee, if he thought Trump had tried to order him to halt an investigation in February, he wouldn’t have said three months later (in sworn testimony) he’d never experienced such an order:
HIRONO: So if the Attorney General or senior officials at the Department of Justice opposes a specific investigation, can they halt that FBI investigation?
COMEY: In theory yes.
HIRONO: Has it happened?
COMEY: Not in my experience. Because it would be a big deal to tell the FBI to stop doing something that — without an appropriate purpose. I mean where oftentimes they give us opinions that we don’t see a case there and so you ought to stop investing resources in it. But I’m talking about a situation where we were told to stop something for a political reason, that would be a very big deal. It’s not happened in my experience.
If I said to a police officer, “I hope you can see your way clear to letting me off with a warning”, would the Democrats consider that resisting arrest, or just obstruction of justice?