As it stands today, former FBI Director James Comey may just provide the key testimony that points the Trump regime toward the exit. That’s fine. But it shouldn’t be forgotten how we came to this point in the story.
From his ludicrous, finger-wagging press gaggle in announcing Clinton’s innocence, to his ham-fisted intrusion into the final act of the election, Comey has felt compelled to insert Jim Comey, straight-shooter, into every moment. As a result he’s caused serious harm to the FBI, to the election, and to the nation.
That’s me. Quoting me. In a reminder that no one, but no one, provided more fire-free smoke to the 2016 election than James #$@% Comey.
Why did Comey behave in a way that broke the rules of his own department as he rode his high horse directly across the bodies of Hillary Clinton, Loretta Lynch, and Barack Obama? Because, according to The Washington Post, he was fooled by fake news put out by, you guessed it, the Russians.
The Russian document mentioned a supposed email describing how then-Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch had privately assured someone in the Clinton campaign that the email investigation would not push too deeply into the matter — a conversation that if made public would cast doubt on the inquiry’s integrity.
Current and former officials have said that document played a significant role in the July decision by then-FBI Director James B. Comey to announce on his own, without Justice Department involvement, that the investigation was over. That public announcement — in which he criticized Clinton and made extensive comments about the evidence — set in motion a chain of other FBI moves that Democrats now say helped Trump win the presidential election.
The Russian document was real enough. The email that it mentioned between Lynch and Clinton? Never existed.
In short form, Comey saw a Russian document saying that Lynch had agreed to go easy on Clinton. The email had everything including Debbie Wasserman Schultz and organizations connected to George Soros. It was an alt-right conspiracy theory dream document. Comey chose to believe it. In fact, he bought this ruse so completely that he bypassed Lynch, announced the results of his investigation to the public, and harangued Clinton long enough to fuel a thousand Republican screeds.
People trying to pick between whether Russian interference or Comey’s involvement in the campaign had the greatest effect can just stop now. Because it was All. One. Thing. Comey’s intrusion into the election was part of the Russian interference.
According to the FBI’s own assessment, the document was bad intelligence — and according to people familiar with its contents, possibly even a fake sent to confuse the bureau. The Americans mentioned in the Russian document insist they do not know each other, do not speak to each other and never had any conversations remotely like the ones described in the document. Investigators have long doubted its veracity, and by August the FBI had concluded it was unreliable. …
Current and former officials have argued that the secret document gave Comey good reason to take the extraordinary step over the summer of announcing the findings of the Clinton investigation himself without Justice Department involvement.
By August, Comey’s attack was a month out of his mouth and parts of it were being repeated along with chants of “lock her up” at Trump rallies and the Republican National Convention.
If Comey does contribute to Trump’s downfall, it will be partial repayment for his role in dropping Trump into the Oval Office in the first place.
