Trump Reportedly Asked James Comey To Stop Michael Flynn Investigation
“I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go,” the president reportedly told the FBI director in February.
This Isn’t Smoke. It’s Fire.
We talk a lot about smoke and fire. But this isn’t smoke. This is the fire. It’s not clear to me what more we need to know. The only question is whether we decide to put it out or just let it keep burning. As I said above, I bet we’re going to let it burn for quite a while longer.
President Trump fired the FBI Director – by his own account because he was upset about the investigation into his and his associates ties to Russia. We now learn he straight out asked the FBI Director to end the investigation into Michael Flynn three months ago.
Last week he decided in the spur of the moment to share highly classified information with the Russian Foreign Minister. Each of these revelations are startling, shocking, albeit at this point simply not that surprising. There are all sorts of safeguards and norms we have created to prevent or limit a President’s ability to transform the law into an instrument of his or her own personal prerogative, his or her own weapon. It is actually better to say that we have set up all sorts of metaphoric fences around such an act or transformation to prevent someone in authority from even getting close to doing something like this – there are policies, taboos, norms, all there to keep a President or other executives from getting close.
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“I hope you can let this go,” the president said, according to the memo, parts of which were read to The Times by an associate of Mr. Comey’s.
Mr. Trump fired the F.B.I. director last week. The White House denied the memo’s version of events.
"The White House," meaning Donald J. Trump, has no credibility. He's a liar. He's not to be believed.
28 comments:
Trump has no respect for truth, proper protocols, or our institutions. He. Is Amarica's disgrace.
Trump isn't toast, he's charcoal! Hahahahaha! He's being brought down by the guy he fired!
I wonder if Pence is picking out the new drapes for the Oval office.
Let's make America great again by impeaching Trump's big fat ass!
Yes, it's fire. Unfortunately, there have been enough obvious grounds for impeachment already, of one kind or another, to make it clear that no escalation of the magnitude of the outrages will spur enough Republicans toward impeachment to get the job done. For almost all of them, it's a purely political calculation defined by cowardice. When will they feel that the political risk of not impeaching Trump exceeds the risk from impeaching him? When they reach that point, and not before, they'll take action.
Shaw, you know the extremists will never admit anything improper by Trump. This new accusation won't change a thing. Just look at a few comments from these folks dismissing anything improper by the pres...
Nothing imporper about this at all. They were talking about IS and terrorism in general and Trump was sharing information so Russia could more competently join in the fight.
Why can’t the president share info with “allies” against ISIS?
There is no way the Post can prove their story.
Who was in that meeting that would leak to the Post?
The Post can’t tell you.
So do we believe them or McMasters?
He is trying to use his skills as a negotiator not only within our own government and our allies but also with countries like Russia and China. In a way its kinda fun to watch, too.
Breaking news!
Unnamed sources swear that Washington Post conspires to smear president!
My favorite is the one who thinks this fun to watch! Really? Fun to watch your president betray allies?
This does look really bad.
JMJ
@Dave --- He is trying to use his skills as a negotiator not only within our own government and our allies but also with countries like Russia and China. In a way its kinda fun to watch, too.
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I see we both thought that one illuminating.
He may have been a bit lacking in negotiating skills vis a vis Comey but maybe it's just me.
In fact I can't think of any demonstration of negotiating ability on his part.
Infindel.......what exactly are the grounds for impeachment?
Trump is and has been a threat to Ameriacan democracy. Throw his traitorous ass out!
The experts were right: Trump isn’t fit to be president
None of those disastrous decisions was part of a deliberate plan. Each one was made because of the president’s willful ignorance, impulsiveness and inexperience. It is not at all surprising to learn that — during a conversation that shouldn’t have been happening, one that was photographed by a Russian journalist who shouldn’t have been there — the president revealed details of an ongoing intelligence operation. Once again, this was not part of a deliberate plan. Instead, it happened because the president is a braggart who wanted to show off his access to “great intel” and to impress his important guests.
Ross Douthat,, for whom I hold no brief, writes today of using the 25th amendment to remove an incompetent childlike president, rather than impeachment to remove a criminal one, arguing that Trump is too stupid to know he's committing a crime. Nevertheless. Here is a conservative voice, adding to Brooks and Stephens in the Times as well:
'Read the things that these people, members of his inner circle, his personally selected appointees, say daily through anonymous quotations to the press. (And I assure you they say worse off the record.) They have no respect for him, indeed they seem to palpate with contempt for him, and to regard their mission as equivalent to being stewards for a syphilitic emperor.
'It is not squishy New York Times conservatives who regard the president as a child, an intellectual void, a hopeless case, a threat to national security; it is people who are self-selected loyalists, who supported him in the campaign, who daily go to work for him. And all this, in the fourth month of his administration.'
--'Stewards for a syphilitic emperor'.
Infindel.......what exactly are the grounds for impeachment?
(1) Violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, for exploiting the Presidency to enrich his businesses, including with income from foreign sources.
(2) Obstruction of justice (one of the chief grounds for the planned impeachment of Nixon), for asking Comey to stop the Flynn investigation and later firing Comey in an effort to stop the Trump-Russia investigation.
(3) Collaboration with a hostile foreign dictatorship during the campaign with intent to sabotage the election.
He is clearly guilty of (1) since these activities have been open and public. He is almost certainly guilty of (2) and (3) based on the currently-available evidence, and Congress has the necessary powers to find out for sure.
There are also the issues of gross incompetence and mental instability, which Congress would be entitled to consider in such a situation (the 25th Amendment could also come into play there).
Finally, he has seriously threatened our relations with several allies, by (for example) leaking secret information obtained from Israel to Russia, which is likely to pass it along to regimes hostile to Israel; and behaving recklessly toward North Korea, which increases the risk of a nuclear attack on Japan and South Korea. This is not exactly crimes or misdemeanors, but again, Congress should take it into account.
And still the Trumpanzees are screaming about 'fake news' and how this is all the fault of the Democrats out to get Trumputin. They totally ignore the FACT that without a constant stream of corruption, lies and scandal pouring out of the White House like water through a sieve, that there'd be NOTHING to go after him for. Let's face it, logical thinking has never been a strong suit for the right wing. They run on emotion, not facts and they can swallow any thing so long as it benefits their party over their country. Truly, they are as dangerous as ISIS.
Here's why the USA is so effed up:
Trump supporter: "I expect the calls for impeachment to become deafening. Trump is the ostensible target of the present rage screech by the Enemedia, but the real target is the electorate who voted for Trump."
Trump's 30% are blaming the media for Trump's lies, for Trump giving highly classified information to the Russians, for asking Comey to stop any investigation of Flynn, for firing Yates and Comey. It's all the media's fault, not Trump! Trump's 30% would like all of his stupidities and lying to be hidden from the American people. Trump's supporters think the exposure of his incompetence and stupidity is taking revenge on the people who voted for him.IOW kill the messenger that shows the Trump supporter that they were fools to follow this disaster and make him the head of government. the trump supporters cannot live with that horrible truth: They were stupid and they were had! So blame the messenger!
Clearwater, left unsaid is that many of these leaks are coming from inside the White House, or to put it another way, his allies.
As Erick Erickson reported yesterday, the leaker on the Russian info campaigned for Trump and now works in the WH.
Clearwater, that's just why the Trumpanzees are proving so hard to pry away from Trump -- they hate to acknowledge that they were conned and that the "smart people" who tried to warn them during the campaign were right all along.
But other Republicans have no such teflon. Even Trumpanzees are turning against the actions of the Republican Congress, especially ACA repeal -- just look at what's been going on in the town halls. If we can get Congress back, we can limit the damage Trump (or Pence) can cause.
And even Trump's support has been eroding little by little. Eventually he'll be down to just his hard-core base.
Infidel, if there is an impeachment, or even if Trump resigns, I wonder about the aftermath.
Is Pence also at risk? He's been implicated in a lot of the lying that has engulfed the Trump Admin.
If not, who might he choose as his VP? If so, that will give us President Ryan.
Is the risk of a President Trump so great that the prospect of either of the other "true believers" is a better option for America?
Would an impeachment or resignation up the chances of the Dems retaking at least the house?
Sadly, all of this was predictable. In fact, many on both the left and the right said so. And yet Americans went out and elected a political rookie with no idea of how to govern. It's like hiring a plumber to do brain surgery because you want a fresh face in the OR.
So many questions are out there for us, courtesy of a party and people who chose to willingly neglect reality for pure political power.
Trump used his Coast Guard Academy commencement speech to... whine about the "unfair" media.
Trump said "No politician in history has ever been treated so unfairly."
For once I agree with him. The good news is that President Obama worked through it and will be just fine.
Clearwater, apparently Trump never say any of THIS.
It's unfair only when the media are after him.
He's an embarrassing little wuss. Mr. Obama had more dignity in his little finger than trump has in his entire bloated body.
That should read: "apparently Trump never SAW any of THIS.
Are we better off not booting this freakin' grifter till after the midterms and keeping the rethugs in disarray?
Wouldn't it be more dangerous to give them time to regroup under Pence?
You guys seem to forget Trump's lies were even worse during the election, yet, he won. Where are the articles of impeachment from the Democrats? There is certainly enough evidence, right?!
We will have to rely on Republicans to get rid of this lying preside4nt, because the Democrats don't have the guts to.
The Democrats are wimps! In the face of a president trying to destroy America all they can do is send their leaders to the cameras and spew hallow threats.
Anonymous @1:36PM: "Where are the articles of impeachment from the Democrats? There is certainly enough evidence, right?!"
We haven't even heard from Comey or see his memos. It is way too early for article of impeachment.
Anonymous you've got it all wrong, dear. It is the GOP and gullible voters who gave America Trump, not the Democrats, even though their candidate won the popular vote by 3 million.
Trump is a product of the GOP, and he belongs to them. It's not up to only Democrats to clean up the horseshit the GOP eagerly put in the Oval Office. The GOP were gleeful when Trump won, and they were happy to ride the tiger until now -- and now is when reality has hit the fan and is splattering all over the Gee-OH-Pee!
Ducky... your point has been my contention. Leave Trump in office, let him take us down a deep hole and watch the House flip. Then the Dems can toss impeachment articles on both him and Pence to the Senate and we'll see what happens.
Ducky, I'd say you're correct with the idea of leaving the grifter in office so that it's a daily reminder to America of how utterly incompetent and cynical the GOP is to have embraced Trump as they did. But I'm also fearful of what the Maniac-in-Chief can do to risk war with our enemies AND our friends. He's proved everything we liberals said about him: He's incompetent, stupid, and a mendacious creep.
Poor Donnie. No President in history allowed the enemy into the Oval Office and handed over top secret coded classified information to that enemy, in the presence of enemy media while the free American press was locked out. No President in history has been so unqualified, so corrupt, so deceitful and so fascistic. Whine little bitch, your days are numbered.
As if the Comey issue is the only basis for impeachment. And you just verified my point that only the Republicans will do anything about this monster.
“Look at the way I’ve been treated lately, especially by the media,” Trump said on Wednesday during a speech to the Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut. “No politician in history, and I say this with great surety, has been treated worse or more unfairly.”
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Poor baby. Steve Bannon convinced him that just blaming the media is an effective strategy.
Tough noogies, Happy Hands, Comey has your ass in a sling and those idiots you've surrounded yourself with don't help.
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