President Donald Trump has fired FBI Director James Comey. From The Washington Post:
“The president has accepted the recommendation of the Attorney General and the deputy Attorney General regarding the dismissal of the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” Spicer told reporters in the briefing room, according to a pool report.
Earlier in the day, the FBI notified Congress that Comey misstated key findings involving the Hillary Clinton email investigation during testimony last week, saying that only a “small number’’ of emails had been forwarded to disgraced congressman Anthony Weiner, not the “hundreds and thousands’’ he’d claimed in his testimony.
FBI Director Comey has been “terminated and removed from office.” pic.twitter.com/z2or0M6oJB
— Philip Crowther (@PhilipinDC) May 9, 2017
Statement from the White House on the firing of James Comey. pic.twitter.com/ZdaQdgURRA
— Byron Tau (@ByronTau) May 9, 2017
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein listed why he recommended firing Comey. From CNN:
In a separate letter, rich in irony, Rosenstein laid out the reasons for Comey’s firing, arguing that it was his transgressions over the Clinton email investigation that were the cause of his dismissal.
At the center of Rosenstein’s rationale for recommending Comey’s firing was the director’s handling of the investigation into Clinton’s private server, namely his decision to recommend no charges be filed and the news conference he held to explain his reasoning.
Rosenstein accused Comey of attempting to “usurp the attorney general’s authority” by publicly announcing why he felt the case should be closed without prosecution.
“Compounding the error, the director ignored another longstanding principle: We do not hold press conferences to release derogatory information about the subject of a declined criminal investigation,” Rosenstein argued in his memo.“We should reject the departure and return to the traditions (of the bureau),” Rosenstein said. “The way the director handled the conclusion of the email investigation was wrong. As a result, the FBI is unlikely to regain public and congressional trust until it has a director who understands the gravity of the mistakes and pledges never to repeat them.”
Comey found himself embraced in more controversy this week. From Fox News:
The director told lawmakers that Huma Abedin, when a top aide to Hillary Clinton at the State Department, had sent “hundreds and thousands” of emails to her husband’s laptop, including some with classified information.
On Tuesday, the FBI said in a two-page letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee that only “a small number” of the thousands of emails found on the laptop had been forwarded there while most had simply been backed up from electronic devices.
Most of the email chains on the laptop containing classified information were not the result of forwarding, the FBI said.
Judicial Watch, which has been receiving Hillary Clinton’s emails, praised Trump’s decision in this statement sent via email:
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton today issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s decision to fire FBI Director James Comey:
“This is an important move to restore public confidence in the fair administration of justice at the Federal level. Mr. Comey did not seem to understand some of the laws he was asked to investigate and unfortunately politicized his sensitive positon as the FBI director. President Trump took the right step in cleaning house at the FBI.”
I will update the post when more information becomes available.
News helicopter tracking James Comey vehicle on highway in L.A. https://t.co/nwgWmZtZ7u pic.twitter.com/6J8AxfFxYU
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) May 10, 2017
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Hallelujah
OH HAPPY DAY!!!!!!
Good riddance to a long-time Clinton flunkie!
No tears here. I think the whole country is ready to move on from this guy.
A bi-partisan sentiment undoubtedly – if we are willing to allow such thoughtcrimes anymore.
I have a feeling Comey is probably more than ready to move on too.
I wouldn’t be so sure about that. If the r/news thread on this is any sort of barometer for the Left and its cognitive dissonace, he was J. Edgar Hoover hunting down Commies until an “evil group of Russian agents” in the White House stabbed him in the back for it…just so long as you don’t mention Hillary.
Should have fired the little weasel 3 months ago.
Comey has the dubious distinction of getting BOTH sides of the political aisle to hate his guts – and not for a good reason.
The slimy little toad invented provisions of the law to let Hillary skate, and then was basically blackmailed into announcing they were re-opening the investigation.
Trump should have fired him in week 1.
He would have fired him long ago if the Deputy AG had been confirmed earlier. Sessions couldn’t put together the case against Comey because of conflicts. And the Deputy was finally confirmed hardly 2 weeks ago. Nothing slow about the timing at all. Kinda fast I’d DC terms.
It was obvious that this man was not suited to be the leader of an investigatory agency like the FBI. The public’s trust in that institution has fallen dramatically since Comey has taken the helm. He is more of a politician and a narcissist than a non-public leader. His refusal to answer questions that would relieve this terrible cloud over Trump’s admin was bordering on criminal.
Plus he has never worked for the FBI or in actual law enforcement. Being a prosecutor is not the same as being a boots on the ground investigator
Quandry:
If his letter caused Hillary to lose the election, the dems should be happy to see him go. Will they be happy?
The dems are never happy if something good or correct or ethical happens.
Their answer to that is going to turn out to be the same as their answer as to whether or not Trump’s EO about immigration was constitutional – if Hillary would have done it, then of course it would have been perfectly legal. Of course.
To the left today, actions can only be judged to be “legal” or “Illegal” after you take into consideration the social standing and political correctness of the person taking the action.
Beautifully correct!
A search for a new FBI director will begin immediately.
Interesting. He must have somebody in mind, but isn’t giving any hints. Maybe he wants to give the Press a nice shiny bauble to speculate about—too good an opportunity to waste.
David Clark! I know, unlikely, but its fun to dream, isn’t it?
I’d say it’s a sure thing that Trump already has a new FBI director in mind, checked out, and ready to announce on short notice. Remember, Trump is doing things on a different schedule and approach than just about any previous president. Instead of making this announcement at 4:30PM on Friday, out it came.
Now comes the time when he releases all the rabbits for the press to chase around. I’d bet on at least five people, four of which are ‘probably not’ and one of which is ‘preferred, but checking just in case’ and possibly several ‘you can’t be serious’ just to get the press all hoppy.
I couldn’t agree more. People seem to keep forgetting that we’re talking about President Donald Trump. He’s the epitome of unconventional. And this makes him quite clever in dealing with media circuses because they expect everything to go by their playbook. Trump is not about that. It’s awesome. Been loving the show from the beginning.
So, Giuliani, or maybe Ted Cruz as the next Director?
Giuliani for FBI head.
Cruz for the Supreme Court.
Can you imagine the nationwide temper tantrum that would ensue when Cruz replaces Ginsburg on the Court? Oh the schadenfreude!
I’m thinkin’ Chuck Norris!
When Chuck Norris skydives, he jumps from the ground to the plane.
Guiliana made the mistake of discussing in public that Trump was looking for a muslim ban.
Outstanding and extraordinary mayor of New York, but no thank you.
We need someone who will outthink the dems.
This seems to be the theme of the news were covered today for LI.
Glad to see Comey go. Any excuse, and all that. But — they’re not saying there were only a few emails on Weiner’s laptop — only that Huma didn’t forward most of them. They were ‘backed up’. WTF? Isn’t that worse? At least forwarding them had a sorta kinda plausible explanation (in a ditzy woman way) that Hillary wanted them printed out and Huma didn’t know any better. But what was she doing purposely backing up classified materials on her ridiculous husband’s laptop?
I’m thinking it was actually unintentional.
If all she did was use a local email client to connect to the illegal server, it would have made a local copy of her mailbox, bringing all of the e-mails down. So a technologically illiterate person could “back up” their mailbox in places they didn’t intend just because they wanted to use outlook. (or thunderbird, or…)
Comey was a disaster, and was destroying trust in the FBI as much as obama/jarrett destroyed trust in the federal government.
Next: Indict Hillary Clinton for her countless crimes, and then Al Sharpton for millions of dollars in tax evasion. Then get to work on Soros and his ilk, and last but not least, that weasel Obama for his treason.
Gotta LOVE Trump.
Yes and Steve Pagones, who was falsely accused by Sharpton of raping Tawana Brawley, would be very happy to see a prosecution happen
Trey Gowdy is excellent at peeling the onion. Unusually incisive legal mind.
I’m in favor of Trey Gowdy, although he’s soft on illegal aliens.
I don’t know why he was doing it, but Comey was making hash out of everything. I’m very glad to see him go.
Maybe now we can see some rhyme and reason in federal law enforcement.
I like that the Asst AG wrote a 3 page letter stating the reasons and Sessions concurred and forwarded it to Trump. That is the way it should be, under the circumstances.
They did a good job of keeping it under wraps since I have seen some reports that senior FBI people were shocked by the news.
They are learning to keep the important stuff secret.
They always knew how to keep stuff secret, and now that the last disloyal staff member is gone things will be much smoother.
Rosensteins letter pointed out something that has been all too ignored in this whole fiasco.
It is NOT the FBI directors job to decide what the DOJ and its prosecutors should or shouldn’t do with the results of their investigations.
Much less announce its findings to the world.
Also, finding it Hillaryous that the same Dems who wanted Comey dead last fall are now wailing that this is totally unheard of.
I guess they forgot who William Sessions was.
What do Dennis Rodman, Gilbert Gottfried and James Comey have in common…
” I am not a weasel” Mr. Comey is indeed a weasel. I also suspect he is a little too self-important and likes his liquor a bit too much.
Onward! A new beginning!
Good riddance.
Liberals Screaming:
Yesterday – Fire Comey! He hurt our Hillary! (sniff)
Today – How dare you fire Comey! Hater!
At least the Dems are not disappointing us – they are doing exactly what we expected. We knew the hypocrites would immediately make Comey a martyr who was fired for doing the right thing.
He will get to go on late night TV and be a hero and if you say anything bad about Comey now, you will be viciously attacked. If you quote Hillary from a few days back, they will act like you made it all up – we always loved the guy.
Demcrat zombies – they’re so dar n predictable.
Coming after all the recent press about Hillary holding Comey largely responsible for her defeat, with no one on the left raising any objection to that notion, it’s a lot of fun to watch the Dems danciung like they’re barefoot on a bed of hot coals. Hubida, hubida, hubida.
Cummings wailing & demanding ‘immediate special hearings’ into the President exercising his legal authority is particularly sweet.
I note that in the CNN account of the Deputy AG’s memo justifying the firing, CNN says the author “accuses” Comey of usurping the DOJ’s role, etc.
Whereas the actual letter quotes to the same effect statements from a long list of former USAGs from both R and D administrations, even including Holder, the only USAG ever held in contempt of Congress. They all condemned Comey’s actions.
“accuses” indeed. But then it is CNN. Sad.
It doesn’t matter if the emails were forwarded or retrieved from a jump drive. Actually, if they were copied onto electronic devices, it’s even worse because there’s no way of knowing how many drives classified information landed on or where they are today.
Shortly after hearing during Congressional testimony, for the umpteenth time, that there is no evidence, whatsoever, nearly 2 years later, of any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, we’re now in grave danger of ‘never knowing’ – because of the allegedly Nixonian SNM-like firing of the FBI Director, apparently the only person with ‘the goods’ on Trump.
They want so badly for this to be something it isn’t. What an effing crock of sh*t.
Only people in this country who have ever been “Nixonian”
(they should be so lucky) have always been the Demcrats!
LBJ, JFK, Obama, Clintons, etc. etc. etc.
In terms of mishandling classified documents, I see little difference between copying them an forwarding them. They wound up on an unsecured laptop of a blackmailable pedophile.
And did he not print them?
I have long-time friends in the Bureau. If I described how hopeful they were when Comey was announced as the new Director just a few years ago, it would seem unimaginable today. They thought he would salvage and restore the Bureau.
What a train-wreck he’s proven to be. And nobody knows it better than them.
–Andrew
Andrew – this is off topic – the second day of the Betty Shelby trial was today. They are still in jury selection. Are you planning to cover it?
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/bettyshelby/betty-shelby-trial-day-news-and-notes/article_c4b0fa53-1fbf-5f4b-87a9-c64e14886223.html
Regarding the “usurping” issue: when AG Lynch stated that she would not make the decision but would instead ‘defer’ to Mr. Comey, the latter’s response to the former should have been this:
“Madame Attorney General, as Director of the FBI it is not my perogative to make final decisions on whom shall or shall not be prosecuted for the commission of a crime. The FBI does not serve as prosecutor; rather, the FBI serves to gather evidence and statements so as to come to an understanding of a case, which we then forward to the appropriate US Attorney or directly to the Department of Justice.
“I therefore am unable to make a recommendation concerning this or any criminal matter; indeed I am bound not to make such recommendations.
“I politely suggest that if you believe you should recuse yourself from the matter of one Hillary R. Clinton (since you have recently met with her spouse), you should then either a) appoint a special prosecutor or b) designate an appropriate US Attorney, or Deputy Attorney General, to make the final decision and, if appropriate, supervise a prosecution.
“I thank you for your trust in me, but the American people trust in me to stay within the traditional boundaries of the FBI.
“Good evening.”
Trump could cure cancer for a nickel and the Democrat leadership would bitch that he should have concentrated on hepatitis first.
Do not get too excited about this. Look closely at the timing and those involved.
First, the timing. It has come to light, in the last two months, that the FBI was actively investigating Candidate Trump and members of his campaign for ties to and possible collusion with, the Russian Government. This investigation was underway in June of 2016. It is likely that this investigation included electronic surveillance of Trump and his associates. There is a reliable report that no FISA warrant was obtained until October of 2016. There are reliable reports that part, perhaps the largest part, of the justification for the warrant was provided by a largely debunked intelligence report provided by Senator McCain, which was produced by a largely discredited former member of the British intelligence service. Then we have Comey’s startling admission, last week, that he essentially provided political cover for the AG and the President, because he knew that they could not justify not prosecuting HRC, for the server scandal. IN that admission, he stated that he knew that he was dooming his political career. Now, a week later, and only two weeks after Deputy AG Rosenstein, an Obama appointee to US Attorney for Maryland, is confirmed, he [Rosenstein] sends a damning letter to AG Sessions laying out a reasons for the Removal of Comey, including the solicited opinions of a whole slew of former AGs, both Republican and Democrat. This letter is forwarded to the President by AG Sessions. This results in Comey being relieved of his position, something that he alluded to happening a week ago.
So, what else happened in the last month or two, which makes Comey a liability? Well, we find out that Susan Rice, adviser to President Obama, was directly responsible for the unmaking of the identities of Americans in communication intercepts. We find out about the changes in the rules governing dissemination of these unmasked names within the government bureaucracy, by President Obama. We find out that the surveillance of American citizens is very likely much more widespread than was previously assumed.
What we are looking at is quite possibly the largest government criminal enterprise ever found within the US government. One which was perpetrated by the last Presidential administration. And, one of the major players, the Director of the FBI, suddenly gets terminated and becomes a private citizen, placing him outside the control of the government. And, this is done due, almost entirely, to the efforts of an Obama appointee, whom the Democrats and Republicans both seemingly love. Call me paranoid, but the timing on this action stinks.
It has come to light, in the last two months, that the FBI was actively investigating Candidate Trump and members of his campaign for ties to and possible collusion with, the Russian Government.
It’s illegal to be on speaking terms with officials in the Russian government? Uh-huh.
I’m really freaking sick and tired of hearing about so-called Russian collusion. It’s nothing more than a left wing insinuation at this point with no actual specific crime being alleged. Who colluded with whom? What was the supposed collusion supposed to accomplish? Words have meaning and just throwing out a vague “collusion” without any supporting evidence or specific accusation is bullshit.
You took this out of context. The important point is that the FBI was, “investigating” the Trump campaign. It would need some reason for such an investigation and the “Trump/Russia collusion” accusation was convenient. But, it is also very likely that electronic surveillance was was involved and the first reported FISA warrant for that activity was not issued until October of 2016. The collusion claim was nothing more than a red herring to justify an otherwise improper or illegal activity.
Mr. Rosenstein was nominated to the position of US Attorney for Maryland by President George W. Bush in 2005.
A simple Wiki search was all that took.
But do carry on with your conspiracy theory…
My apologies for using the media as a source. I should have done the research myself. Thank you for the correction.
However, it still does not affect my timeline above. An d, Rosenstein is almost universally supported by both Democrats and Republicans, even in the Trump Administration. I find that interesting. You can make of my post what you will. We’ll see just how much momentum the investigation into domestic spying by the Obama administration gains after this.
What I want to know is why did we put him on a G550 at about $5000 per flight hour to fly home? Make him hitchhike.