James Comey

[Slartibartfast]

Thank you, I'm flattered.

You're welcome.

One remnant of the Jesuit portion of my education is the intellectual imperative to consider that the argument opposed to your own position might have some merit. The priests served me well.

If you remembered that, then the Jesuits did a damn fine job. I learned from reading Feynman's books that scientists have to be their own worst critic --- something you can't do if you don't consider the merits of other arguments. To me this is the core of intellectual honesty. Or, to break it down into simple logic (I am a mathematician by training), if you and I disagree then either your reasoning is flawed, my reasoning is flawed or we are working from different assumptions. You can't evaluate --- and thus possibly find grounds to dispute --- someone's argument if you don't understand the point they are making and the reasoning that got them there.

Put another way. When he was elected I didn't agree with many of Obama's policies. But I also conceded that he he was pretty smart and the possibility must exist that on things we did not agree on, he could be right and I could be wrong. I cannot tell you how many times I have explained this concept to the people I do tend to agree with and was met with absolute horror that I would think something so radical.

I think that kind of integrity scares people because, in doing so, it creates the possibility that you may have to admit that you are wrong --- and, over time, the certainty of it. This makes people especially uncomfortable if they don't have a mental process to triage their beliefs scientifically. In the case of the people you spoke with I would guess that the prospect of giving up the conviction that anything Obama did was bad was too much because they didn't know enough to decide for themselves based on the merits. It's a big problem on both sides of the aisle.

[stuff about Obamacare]

I cut this because it is off-topic, but, more importantly, deserves its own thread.

There, I've gone preaching off topic again, and for that I'm sorry. Again, thanks for the expressions of appreciation. Some of us are trying to be good people.

No problem, I'm going to transplant it in its own topic because I think it can be the start of a very good discussion. I think that we're all better people when we work together and that this kind of honest dialogue is an important part of that.

[SLQ]

So I'm watching Huckabee-Sanders' press conference from this morning. One thing I found odd. She keeps repeating that she (and others) have heard from "multiple" "rank and file" employees of the FBI, and they support Comey's firing (as opposed to McCabe, who said Comey enjoyed "broad support"). My question is why rank and file FBI members are talking to the White House? Anyone? Buehler?

Why would she so readily admit this? (She did it yesterday, too.)

[Azastan]

So I'm watching Huckabee-Sanders' press conference from this morning. One thing I found odd. She keeps repeating that she (and others) have heard from "multiple" "rank and file" employees of the FBI, and they support Comey's firing (as opposed to McCabe, who said Comey enjoyed "broad support"). My question is why rank and file FBI members are talking to the White House? Anyone? Buehler?

Why would she so readily admit this? (She did it yesterday, too.)

You know, sometimes they just aren't smart enough to figure out that they just admitted that they are trying to intimidate people (assumes that this is in fact true, which is not necessarily the case).

[Notorial Dissent]

I really can't feel sorry for Comey, he brought this on himself when he decided to play politics before the election. Obama really should have fired him for cause, but I can see why he didn't. I would have thought as a 27 year veteran that he would have known better than to play politics and expect any kind of loyalty from a scorpion like LaRump. Guess he wasn't as smart as he thought he was. I suspect he'll have other problems down the road before the dust is all settled.

[GreatGrey]

B023FFAF-9A73-456F-A725-7F23F115A538.jpg

[Lani]

FBI agents change their Facebook profile photos to James Comey – a gesture normally reserved for slain colleagues

Not everyone inside the FBI was a supporter of Mr Comey. But several reports said the way he was treated had left many feeling angry and frustrated. The Daily Beast said at least a dozen agents posted images on their private Facebook pages of themselves with Mr Comey, or else of Mr Comey alone.

The gesture is apparently usually reserved for a colleague who dies in the line of duty,

“The real impact will be the distrust of the agency under the leadership of the new director,” one agent told the website.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 6.html?amp

[Lani]

Somehow I missed this. Another reason to dump Comey?

FBI Director James Comey says he's looking into possible leaks to Rudy Giuliani
MAY 3, 2017 5:37 PM

WASHINGTON — FBI Director James Comey said Wednesday that his bureau is looking into whether there were possible internal leaks to Rudy Giuliani, promising "severe consequences" if there were.

Giuliani, the former New York mayor and top surrogate for President Trump, said repeatedly during the 2016 campaign that he regularly talked to FBI agents about Hillary Clinton's case.

That would be an illegal breach of conduct, and Comey said during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday that it's "a matter the FBI is looking into."

"I don't know yet," Comey said. "But if I find out that people were leaking information about our investigations whether to reporters or private parties, there will be severe consequences."

http://www.nydailynews.com/amp/news/pol ... -1.3134676

[Dolly]

Somehow I missed this. Another reason to dump Comey?

FBI Director James Comey says he's looking into possible leaks to Rudy Giuliani
MAY 3, 2017 5:37 PM

WASHINGTON — FBI Director James Comey said Wednesday that his bureau is looking into whether there were possible internal leaks to Rudy Giuliani, promising "severe consequences" if there were.

Giuliani, the former New York mayor and top surrogate for President Trump, said repeatedly during the 2016 campaign that he regularly talked to FBI agents about Hillary Clinton's case.
<SNIP>

I was reading this article earlier today while looking for something else.
FWIW -
I think the original premise is off but more about Giuliani and another guy blabbing about FBI

11.02.16
‘INTEGRITY QUESTIONED’
Meet Donald Trump’s Top FBI Fanboy
Trump supporters with strong ties to the agency kept talking about surprises and leaks to come—and come they did.

Two days before FBI director James Comey rocked the world last week, Rudy Giuliani was on Fox, where he volunteered, un-prodded by any question: “I think he’s [Donald Trump] got a surprise or two that you’re going to hear about in the next few days. I mean, I’m talking about some pretty big surprises.”

Pressed for specifics, he said: “We’ve got a couple of things up our sleeve that should turn this thing around.”

The man who now leads “lock-her-up” chants at Trump rallies spent decades of his life as a federal prosecutor and then mayor working closely with the FBI, and especially its New York office. One of Giuliani’s security firms employed a former head of the New York FBI office, and other alumni of it. It was agents of that office, probing Anthony Weiner’s alleged sexting of a minor, who pressed Comey to authorize the review of possible Hillary Clinton-related emails on a Weiner device that led to the explosive letter the director wrote Congress.

Hours after Comey’s letter about the renewed probe was leaked on Friday, Giuliani went on a radio show and attributed the director’s surprise action to “the pressure of a group of FBI agents who don’t look at it politically.”

“The other rumor that I get is that there’s a kind of revolution going on inside the FBI about the original conclusion [not to charge Clinton] being completely unjustified and almost a slap in the face to the FBI’s integrity,” said Giuliani. “I know that from former agents. I know that even from a few active agents.” <BIG SNIP>

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... ia=desktop

[Dolly]

So I'm watching Huckabee-Sanders' press conference from this morning. One thing I found odd. She keeps repeating that she (and others) have heard from "multiple" "rank and file" employees of the FBI, and they support Comey's firing (as opposed to McCabe, who said Comey enjoyed "broad support"). My question is why rank and file FBI members are talking to the White House? Anyone? Buehler?

Why would she so readily admit this? (She did it yesterday, too.)

FBI officials challenge Trump's account of dinner meeting with Comey: report

Current and former FBI officials are contradicting President Trump's statement that former FBI Director James Comey asked to meet with the president to request to keep his job, according to a new NBC News report.
...............
FBI officials contradicted Trump's claims, saying the dinner meeting was requested by the White House, and a former senior FBI official said Comey would have never told the president he was not under investigation.

"[Comey] tried to stay away from it [the Russian-ties investigation]," a former official close with Comey told NBC. "He would say, 'look sir, I really can't get into it, and you don't want me to."

A current FBI official also confirmed to NBC that Comey did not request the one-on-one dinner.

"The president is not correct," the former official continued. "The White House called him out of the blue. Comey didn't want to do it. He didn't even want the rank and file at the FBI to know about it."
....................
The former official also refuted claims Thursday by White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, that she had talked to "countless members of the FBI who are grateful for the president's decision" to fire Comey.

"I doubt five people at the FBI even have the [phone] number of the deputy White House press secretary," the former senior official said.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing- ... eting-with

[SLQ]

Thank you, Dolly. That makes infinitely more sense.

[Lani]

Long and detailed article on how Comey handle the Clinton email investigation and very different response to the Russian issue. Here's a small sectipn from it:

In late March, quoting two anonymous sources, Newsweek reported that Comey had actually wanted to talk about the Russian political meddling, through a personal, bylined newspaper column, but the White House had blocked him from doing so. People familiar with the matter told me that the Obama administration had wanted to respond in a more direct way, through an official finding. That came on Oct. 7, through a statement about Russian hacking from the secretary of Homeland Security and the director of National Intelligence. Comey declined to be included on the statement, telling administration officials that he believed it was too close to the election.

Note that was before Comey thought it was just fine to speak about Weiner's computer.

The Problems With the FBI’s Email Investigation Went Well Beyond Comey

https://www.propublica.org/article/prob ... 1494530688

[Lani]

Will Bunch ✔ @Will_Bunch
CNN's Jeff Zeleny reporting that Comey's office is cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape. You can't make this stuff up
Charles P. Pierce ✔ @CharlesPPierce
@Will_Bunch This is exactly what they did to Cox's office during the Saturday Night Massacre.
4:32 PM - 11 May 2017

[Whatever4]

Somehow I missed this. Another reason to dump Comey?

FBI Director James Comey says he's looking into possible leaks to Rudy Giuliani
MAY 3, 2017 5:37 PM

WASHINGTON — FBI Director James Comey said Wednesday that his bureau is looking into whether there were possible internal leaks to Rudy Giuliani, promising "severe consequences" if there were.

Giuliani, the former New York mayor and top surrogate for President Trump, said repeatedly during the 2016 campaign that he regularly talked to FBI agents about Hillary Clinton's case.

That would be an illegal breach of conduct, and Comey said during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday that it's "a matter the FBI is looking into."

"I don't know yet," Comey said. "But if I find out that people were leaking information about our investigations whether to reporters or private parties, there will be severe consequences."

http://www.nydailynews.com/amp/news/pol ... -1.3134676

No, no, no. When we say we want the leaks identified so heads will roll, we don't mean leaks to OUR guys, only THEIR guys.

[RTH10260]

Shout out to Foggy;

No wonder Teh Donald would like someone else doing the reporting and trying to suppress any mention of his Russian adventures.

[Volkonski]

Comey furious at lack of respect White House showed, sources say

http://abcnews.go.com/US/comey-furious- ... d=47367073

Associates say he is simmering at some of the comments directed at him by White House staffers, who have used words like "atrocities" to describe his actions as director.

One person close to the former director said that President Trump calling Comey a "showboat" and suggesting he is not "competent" has required Comey to show considerable restraint.



A source said they expect that at some point Comey will respond to Trump -- but it is uncertain when that would be. For now, Comey has taken a few days to gather himself, particularly given how caught off guard he was by the timing of the firing.

The only public statement from Comey since his dismissal came in the form of a letter he delivered to former FBI colleagues on Wednesday.

[Reality Check]

As someone at DU wrote about this article maybe Comey now understands how Hillary felt when he crapped on her twice.

[MsDaisy]

Source: Comey is 'not worried about any tapes'

Former FBI Director James Comey is "not worried about any tapes" of conversations between him and President Donald Trump, a source familiar with the matter told CNN Friday, adding that "if there is a tape, there's nothing he is worried about" that could be on it.


On Friday, CNN's Jake Tapper reported that Comey was "taken aback" by Trump's request for a personal assurance or pledge of loyalty at a dinner shortly after he took office. Comey refused, saying he could not make such a pledge, but he promised to always be honest with the President.

The source said of the dinner between Comey and Trump on January 27 that it came at Trump's request and was one-on-one.


"It is absolutely untrue that Jim asked to have dinner or that he asked to have his job," the source said. "That is a complete fabrication."

Just imagine, Donald Trump told a big fat lie! Whatever next?

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/12/politics/ ... l?adkey=bn

[Dan1100]

Ken Dilanian‏Verified account @KenDilanianNBC 19m19 minutes ago

A source close to Comey told me this morning: “He hopes there are tapes. That would be perfect.”

[p0rtia]

Karma's a bitch, Jimmy-boy.

[AndyinPA]

Wikileaks is offering $100,000 for Trump-Comey tape!

http://www.newsweek.com/trump-comey-tap ... ard-608568

[Slim Cognito]

Wikileaks is offering $100,000 for Trump-Comey tape!

http://www.newsweek.com/trump-comey-tap ... ard-608568

So they can trash it?

I hate that Trump is making me defend Comey.

[Sterngard Friegen]

No need to defend Comey. I think all the criticism Trump is dumping on Comey is well stated.

Comey was a grandstander and a showboat. He did fail to show restraint. He has appeared not to be very competent.

Of course, the criticisms are all 7 months too late.

I, for one, don't mind seeing Comey get heaped with abuse and get fired. It should have happened at the end of October 2016.

[RVInit]

I think it's perfectly reasonable to agree that Comey's behavior was unacceptable, and the timing and circumstances of his firing are suspect. These are not mutually exclusive.

[AndyinPA]

Obama should have fired him, but I knew he wouldn't and there were probably good reasons at that time not to. Even before the "leak" about the "new" emails, he should have been in more than a little trouble for the way he went off on Hillary after he said there would be no charges. That was also out of bounds. I'm not finding much sympathy for him either. For someone who seems to have prized his reputation so much, he really blew it twice last year big time. He's going to have to do a lot to make up for that. He might have the chance now that he's a private citizen, but I doubt much will change.

[TollandRCR]

I think it's perfectly reasonable to agree that Comey's behavior was unacceptable, and the timing and circumstances of his firing are suspect. These are not mutually exclusive.