Donald Trump is being investigated for possible involvement in Russian interference with the recent election. In the middle of that investigation, he chose to fire the man most responsible for unearthing evidence. That’s about as bad as it gets when it comes to someone in power abusing their position to protect themselves from the consequences of their actions.
But, just for an extra layer of madness, Trump has not only attempted to cover up what he knows about the original subject of the investigation, he’s added a cover-up about the firing. On the Russia investigation, this is definitely a case where the cover-up is not worse than the crime, because the crime is so serious. On the Comey firing, it’s a case where the cover-up was ridiculous from the outset. In the history of hasty, thin, patched-together excuses, few have been as shoddy, transparent, and quick to unravel as this. As cover-ups go, this one is, what’s that word? Sad.
Who started this?
Sean Spicer stand-in Sarah Sanders indicated that Rod Rosenstein started the ax falling.
"There was no request by [Trump] to have a review at the Department of Justice," White House principal deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told the press on Wednesday when asked by ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl.
Rosenstein just walked into Trump’s office, unprompted, to report that Comey had to go. Except, that’s not quite how it’s playing out a day later.
… [Trump] wanted to talk with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, his trusted confidant, and Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, to whom Comey reported directly. Trump summoned the two of them to the White House for a meeting, according to a person close to the White House.
The president already had decided to fire Comey, according to this person. But in the meeting, several White House officials said Trump gave Sessions and Rosenstein a directive: to explain in writing the case against Comey.
At Trump’s direction, Rosenstein went off and put together, overnight, a brief set of issues with Comey — most of which were lifted from Democratic sources—and then Trump proceeded to make Rosenstein the fall guy, painting him as the author of Comey’s destruction. Except someone forgot to tell Rosenstein.
Rosenstein threatened to resign after the narrative emerging from the White House on Tuesday evening cast him as a prime mover of the decision to fire Comey and that the president acted only on his recommendation, said the person close to the White House, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The entire narrative of Comey’s firing was upside down. There was no spontaneous approach from Sessions and Rosenstein. Trump had already decided to fire Comey and dragged Rosenstein into the process in order to generate some justifications for action he’d already determined to take.
Why do this?
The most ridiculous part of Trump’s story from the beginning was the narrative behind Comey’s firing—the idea that James Comey had been too mean to Hillary Clinton during the campaign. That narrative was so at odds with Trump’s own statements over the last year, that it was beyond ludicrous.
Why did Donald Trump really want Comey fired? Throw out the Rosenstein “report.” Not only is it ridiculous, it’s post-justification for action Trump already decided to take. So what’s the real why?
But the private accounts of more than 30 officials at the White House, the Justice Department, the FBI and on Capitol Hill, as well as Trump confidants and other senior Republicans, paint a conflicting narrative centered on the president’s brewing personal animus toward Comey. Many of those interviewed spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to candidly discuss internal deliberations.
Before digging into those narratives, look back at the first line of that story. The line that says “private accounts of more than 30 officials.” Leaks? That’s not a leak. That’s a busted main. What kind of flotsam and jetsam can be found in the resulting flood?
First, Comey wouldn’t back up Trump’s fantasy tweets.
Trump was angry that Comey would not support his baseless claim that President Barack Obama had his campaign offices wiretapped.
Next, Comey wouldn’t top investigating things that might embarrass Trump.
Trump was frustrated when Comey revealed in Senate testimony the breadth of the counterintelligence investigation into Russia’s effort to sway the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Finally, Comey wouldn’t stop looking at how a foreign power attempted to subvert American democracy and focus on how in the hell Donald Trump ended up with 30-plus leaks in the White House alone.
And he fumed that Comey was giving too much attention to the Russia probe and not enough to investigating leaks to journalists.
The other why.
The “Comey make Trump angry,” story line is undoubtedly accurate. But it doesn’t seem to be the only reason the Trumpster was in such a hurry to cut away the FBI director. Because, by an astounding coincidence, Trump sacked Comey just as the FBI investigation was accelerating.
Federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas to associates of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn … The subpoenas represent the first sign of a significant escalation of activity in the FBI's broader investigation begun last July into possible ties between Trump campaign associates and Russia.
And accelerating …
In the weeks before President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, a federal investigation into potential collusion between Trump associates and the Russian government was heating up, as Mr. Comey became increasingly occupied with the probe.
Which lead to the biggest reason Trump had to ditch Comey.
With his concerns mounting, Mr. Comey last week sought more resources to support the bureau’s investigation, which began last July. He requested additional personnel from Rod Rosenstein, who had been recently installed as the deputy attorney general, overseeing the FBI, people familiar with the discussions said.
Putting it together
When it’s all assembled, there are two competing narratives.
Trump World: Newly appointed deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein was so concerned about the melancholy he found in the FBI that he spontaneously launched a personal investigation. After discovering that the problem lay with Director Comey and his too-tough handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email, Rosenstein notified Jefferson Sessions and together they paid a visit on Trump. Confronted with Rosenstein’s forceful analysis, Trump sadly let Comey go the next day.
Real World: Trump was pissed at Comey for being insufficiently ‘loyal,’ and terrified that the FBI was starting to look at areas—including Trump’s finances—where Trump never, never, never wanted anyone to look. He dragged in Rosenstein and demanded a letter to justify his actions, and as soon as it was i his hands, dispatched a termination letter to Comey—but only after inserting a paragraph of “and thanks for saying I didn’t do anything wrong” into the middle of it.
Ultimately, the FBI investigation seems likely to draw some strong connections between Donald Trump and illicit activities, including the money laundering scheme through overpriced real estate that allowed Trump to “rebound” from his latest bankruptcy. In the meantime, the way he has handled the firing of James Comey is foolish enough to generate it’s own scandal.
