Monday, November 07, 2016

James Comey and the E-Mail Scandal That Never Was



Until the U.S. election FBI director James Comey had a fairly decent reputation, as a Republican who claimed he had no time for partisan politics.

But then in July when he cleared Hillary Clinton of criminal charges in her e-mail investigation, he chastised her publicly for being "reckless" when he should have kept his mouth shut.

And then late last month he sent a letter to Congress to let everybody know that the FBI was examining a new batch of e-mails found in the laptop of the sexting pervert Anthony Weiner.



Which damaged Clinton's winning campaign, as Comey must or should have known it would.

While breathing new life into Donald Trump's sagging campaign, by giving that orange demagogue a chance to claim wildly that the e-mail affair was a bigger scandal than Watergate. 

And slander Clinton as a criminal who was certain to be indicted, and jailed.

So the big question now is whether Comey's announcement yesterday, will be enough to lift the cloud he helped place over Hillary.



The F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, told Congress on Sunday that he had seen no evidence in a recently discovered trove of emails to change his conclusion that Hillary Clinton should face no charges over her handling of classified information.

Mr. Comey’s announcement, just two days before the election, was an effort to clear the cloud of suspicion he had publicly placed over her presidential campaign late last month when he alerted Congress that the F.B.I. would examine the emails.


And how will Comey answer this burning question?

Why did Mr. Comey raise the specter of wrongdoing before agents had even read the emails, especially since it took only days to determine that they were not significant?

For there is no good answer to that one, and no doubt whatsoever that Comey totally botched the last ten days of this campaign. 



He needed to understand that to say something about Clinton's email investigation so close to the election meant that he had very real concerns about the possibility of a president-elect being indicted. To simply say - after a nine-day hurricane of news stories about Clinton's emails - that there was never anything to see here is a remarkable swing and miss on Comey's part. 

The Clinton campaign won't say much about Sunday's Comey announcement for fear of re-injecting the FBI and her emails into the conversation in these last few days of the campaign. But, if I were them - or lots of down-ballot Democrats - I would be livid.


And what makes all of this even more appalling, is that Hillary Clinton's e-mail imbroglio was never a real scandal 



In total, network newscasts have, remarkably, dedicated more airtime to coverage of Clinton’s emails than to all policy issues combined. 

This is unfortunate because emailgate, like so many Clinton pseudo-scandals before it, is bullshit. The real scandal here is the way a story that was at best of modest significance came to dominate the US presidential election — overwhelming stories of much more importance, giving the American people a completely skewed impression of one of the two nominees, and creating space for the FBI to intervene in the election in favor of its apparently preferred candidate in a dangerous way.


She may have shown bad judgement, but in that matter at least she is no criminal. Her flaws pale into insignificance compared to those of Donald Trump. 

And by making such a big deal out of that e-mail story, and ignoring far more important issues, the media only helped demonize Clinton further...



Played into the hands of Trump and his depraved deplorables, and did their country no favours.

We now know that Comey may have done what he did to head off a group of rogue FBI agents, who were funnelling leaks to the greasy Rudy Giuliani.

Who last night was sounding both disappointed and desperate...



With good reason.

For he must know that the FBI director's latest letter could help halt Trump's surge, and end his chances of becoming president.

But even that should not save James Comey, honourable man or not.

For failing to control his own agency, for being perceived by many as trying to affect the result of an election, and for exhibiting abominable political judgement.

Comey should resign, or be fired as soon as possible...

15 comments:

UU4077 said...

I think Comey got caught between a rock and a hard place. Whether he acted or not, he was going to lose.

bcwaterboy said...

It's really too bad and far too late for the American People to save face and cancel this entire farce of an election campaign- for the highest office and Commander In Chief and keep the wonderful Barrack Obama in office until someone of his calibre comes along. Don't get me wrong, I do like Hillary, but she simply does not have the charisma needed for this job, not unlike many who came before her. To say Donald Trump is even remotely qualified is saying a lot and the networks should have stopped covering his insanity months upon months ago. With all that said, if America blows the chance to have its first female president, shame on them. It could be generations before that ever happens again. Hillary, while not entirely likeable is without question qualified and she may show America that she will work for all and not just her wealthy backers. Time will tell, but it will be fun to watch it all unfold tomorrow, hoping that Trump gets the spectacular failure he so richly deserves.

Anonymous said...

Her foreign policy inclination might scare me a bit but I have a lot of trouble seeing her as a person who is greedy and wants to amass millions so she can lead a rich person's life style. He's that kind of person. Out to impress everyone with his wealth.

Anonymous said...

Trump winning the election is going to be the biggest F U to progressives and liberals of our lifetime. The agony of the left will be on a colossal scale. One would be able to literally fill a large swimming pool with all the tears shed. Hundreds, if not thousands, of SJW will fill psych wards all across the country. BLM will chimpout on an unprecedented level. Transgenders will be horrified. John Oliver's head will explode. Lena Dunham will spontaneously combust. Sarah Silverman will morph into the rat that she is.

And Simon... well he's going to be sweating profusely, shake uncontrollably, grit his teeth, and write an article about how it's all for the best because this is going to lead to Bernie's revolution.

luceforma said...

you really do make for a nice comic relief...
well, duh!? in little over 24 hours, the agony will be colossal, no matter who wins: either thedonald wins or the trumpits have pitchforks.

Anonymous said...

I love you too Luce. This is Montreal Con here usually under Anonymous. Hey you're right, either way there's going to be trouble. I guess the best we can do is pass the popcorn from up here in Canada while this tragic comedy plays out. If Hillary wins then I guess the laugh is on me.

-MC

Anonymous said...

One theory I'd heard was that at the time and with some polls showing Hillary with 14 and 15 point leads, Comey, under pressure, did what he did to try and prevent Hillary from gaining control of the senate and congress. Whatever the reason, the writing's on the wall for him.
Anon 1:38, the only tears we'll see are "The Tears of a Clown", a big orange one.
JD

Anonymous said...

There is a sucker born every minute, that's why governments have laws to protect people from charlatans in most professions except the political arena. Trump knows the world is awash with suckers and is using it by telling his loyal followers what they want to hear but take a look at his track record and the number of people he has screwed, especially those with the most to loose.No apologies, what you get is a smile a shrug and better luck next time chump. He has made impossible promises with respect to jobs and the economy so obviously he has no intention of keeping them. As with any deception that then leads to more lies excuses and blame until the whole thing either blows up or the deceiver accomplishes his hidden agenda. In either event, as with every good Con its his followers that will ultimately suffer the most. No doubt the progressive lefties that you detest will also suffer but they are progressively adaptable and eventually they will recover. Unless somehow you are part of the 1% that Trump respects or are young/smart enough to be one of his agents your future in Trumpland is dismal.Judging from your bitter comments its likely you have already followed a few charlatans down the rabbit hole so why not double down with Trump, there is always someone else to blame...right?
RT

Anonymous said...

Maybe firing him would be too extreme. Hand him a toilet brush and tell him he's been reassigned to the Drumpf Tower. Tomorrow we will celebrate and laugh at the anonymous Con. Sunny Ways good people. Pamela. ❤️💚💜💗

Steve said...

Another bizarre footnote in history. Was he a repugnet partisian trying to throw the election, or was he visted by the men in black, both sides are part of the triangle of distortion we can not penetrate.

Simon said...

hi UU4077...yes, I think you're right. The rogue agents would have leaked the stuff and Comey would be on the hot seat being accused of covering things up. However, had Comey just issued a simple statement back in July, instead of feeling the need to comment on it. And had he not accepted an invitation to go to Congress, all of this could have been avoided...

Simon said...

hi bcwaterboy...I know what you mean. I am missing Obama already, and he is without a doubt the best president I have ever known. And you're right, Hillary is not as charismatic, but is still competent, and a million times better than the hog Trump. And she has been demonized by the Trump gang to a disgraceful degree.But if she wins all history will remember is that she was the first female president...

Simon said...

hi anon...like many women leaders Hillary probably feels or felt the need to project a tough image on the world stage, so she could look as tough as the boys. But if she becomes president she won't need to do that, and I'd rather have her near the nuclear button, than I would Trump....

Simon said...

hi anon 1:38....I don't know how the others will react, but you've got me all wrong. I don't shake uncontrollably at anything. Nothing scares me, and I always remain cool. It's a major part of my image, so I can't be too careful. But you're right about the last line. I would see a Trump victory as an excellent opportunity to continue Bernie Sanders' revolution....

Simon said...

hi JD...you may be right. However I still think everything he did was to try to keep his rogue agents under control. And one thing led to another until he really was caught between a rock and a hard place. The only way he could restore his reputation as far as I'm concerned, is to fire all those rogue agents....