When the WaPo alert about Comey’s firing hit my phone, my first response was to laugh. Here was a guy with the ultimate sinecure – he was a Republican appointed by a Democrat, who played a pivotal role in keeping bad, bad Hillary Clinton from becoming President. The “credibility” he won from his pre-election actions, as well as his party affiliation, should have insulated him from Trump’s itchy trigger finger as the FBI slowly unraveled the Russian ties.
Instead, he was so fixated on justifying his unjustifiable actions towards Clinton that he went in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee and told a big fat fucking lie. Here’s a guy who is so far up his own ass that he doesn’t get that Trump is looking for any good excuse to fire him – and the only excuse that would work could not center around the Russia investigation.
Shouldn’t we at least allow ourselves a small, bitter laugh over the dumbshit way that Comey exited the stage before we buckle down waiting for the brownshirts to kick in the doors?
Baud
Agree. It’s a win-win. The next FBI director will be horrible, and good people will be hurt because of it, however. But more than likely, he will also be incompetent and scandalous in his how right.
dr. bloor
Yeah, I’ll pass on getting shits-n-giggles over a footnote as the republic goes into a death spiral.
ET
I have been thinking on this Comey thing. My initial thought on an earlier thread still holds:
So Comey gets Trump elected and now it is rumored he is getting fired a day after his testimony. I guess that testimony wasn’t to Sessions or Trump’s liking.
But I couldn’t stop my thoughts from swirling.
1. While that letter from Rod J. Rosenstein may cite Comey’s violation of FBI rules/regs/protocol and a certain lack of trust as a reason for removing Comey, there is no way that is why Trump pulled the trigger. He lauded Comey for standing pat against that nasty woman and likely thought that what Comey did helped Trump to win. But time passes and the Russian thing got to the point that even the FBI decided to get into the investigation – particularly since the election was over. Comey took the investigation seriously and likely Trump was angry at best, and thought Comey was being disloyal. Add to that, Comey wasn’t going to investigate the leaks to the degree that Trump wanted because Comey could see that Trump wasn’t so much worried about the leaks as a matter of security, but because all the leaks just made him look bad. At least Comey wasn’t stupid enough to become Trump’s hatchet man and rightly recognized that this could put the FBI in an even worse position than it already was.
2. Given all that is going on there may actually be not have been a good time to fire Comey if you want him out, but still the timing of the smells and smells bad. Trump may have been thinking of this for a few weeks but to do it just as subpoenas are going out regarding the Flynn investigation and just a day after Hill testimony? The optics of this suck hard.
3. I knew Trump was a coward, but to not do this to Comey’s face and instead send his lackey out to California?
4. Just a word for Trump, just because Comey is gone doesn’t necessarily mean that the investigation is going to stop or be sidelined. Yes it might, but that opens a can of worms no one but Trump wants (and that is only because Trump is an idiot on this – thought he is an idiot about a lot of things).
5. Now for a question. Now that Comey doesn’t have to play nice, what does he say and how does he say it? Obviously, he is likely going to be bucking for his next job so a certain level of circumspection is to be expected, but he likely has personal thoughts he would have liked to put on the record or would have preferred to say things certain ways at various points while he was FBI director, but now certain imposed and self-imposed restrictions may be loosened.
tobie
@dr. bloor: Agree. Too much is at stake here to feel any schadenfreude right now, even if we know Comey was a self-righteous prick. That’s my two cents at least.
Weaselone
No.
Baud
We’re not going to save the country if we can’t be aggressive when the other side punches itself in the neck.
Elizabelle
I have no sympathy for Comey. Hang on for what’s coming, I guess. Optimism speaking, but (1) I think this is the beginning of the end of Trump and (2) if the FBI Director is too egregious, s/he will either not be confirmed or can be fired later.
Why yes, I believe we do have free and fair elections in our future. We have to demand no less.
Jinchi
I’m pretty sure that in Trump’s mind, Comey’s failure in the Clinton investigation was deciding not to prosecute her.
Baud
@Jinchi: I think Trump fired Comey because of Russia. I don’t know what Trump thinks about the Clinton investigation, but he so far hasn’t ordered anyone to pick it back up.
And for the record, the FBI doesn’t decide whether to prosecute. That’s the DOJ.
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
@Elizabelle: Any chance that he just leaves the position vacant? Or does Graf Orlok get appointed?
Jinchi
My guess is that Trump will have Giuliani and Christie mud-wrestle for the chance to be FBI director. Then he’ll decide Mike Flynn is the perfect fit for the job.
JPL
Next step will be pardons for Flynn and Manafort. Comey said that congressmen were hacked, and today I’ll be watching to see who defends Trump. We know that Lindsay did, but I’m waiting on Ryan and McConnell’s statements.
JPL
@Jinchi: Nah, cuz no one will help Christie get out of the mud.
Jinchi
@Baud: I’m sure he fired Comey over Russia. But his only complaint during the Clinton investigation is that she was never put on trial.
OzarkHillbilly
Consider my freude thoroughly schadened.
Baud
@Jinchi: Right, but it’s impossible to say whether he believes that or it was a show for the rubes to rile up the Hillary Hate.
Kay
I’m so bothered by the motives I’ve been offered for the Russian interference. Just “disruption” or “discredit” doesn’t make sense to me. One “disrupts” something on order to push it somewhere. The idea that they would launch this elaborate plan with a goal of “mess it all up!” doesn’t seem credible to me.
The alternate theory that Comey put forth “Putin hates Clinton” ignores both US congressional elections and France.
If Comey had simply stated his theory of the investigation- some rational motive- I would feel better but what I have been given just isn’t sufficient. None of this makes any sense, what we have been told so far. Why did they specifically (and exclusively) go after congressional Democrats in races if this was “about” only Trump and/or Clinton?
What do they want? Something that needs a congressional majority, right, or why bother with congressional races?
zach
@Jinchi: Comey’s actions in the Clinton investigation set the standard that required him to publicly disclose the investigation into Russia/Trump collusion. Trump wants to go back to the status quo of the FBI basically not talking about anything until charges are filed.
debit
@Jinchi: Naw. He’ll give it to Jared.
Elizabelle
@Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD): I hope Trump leaves the position vacant because he’s removed by some circumstance before he gets around to confirming a new director.
I also hope Mr. Giuliani is looking at a grand jury subpoena, with all due haste. Would like to see Rudy go down for corruption.
tobie
@JPL: Yup. We know Graham changed tack ten days ago and went from being a vocal critic of this administration’s stance toward Russia to a defender of the Trump campaign. Will keep my eyes peeled today, too, to see who else caves.
djesno
Introducing your new FBI Director; please welcome Mr. Сука Блять.
rumpole
I will be curious to see what is said by Silverman, but take a breath. CNN also reported that GJ subpoenas were issued for Flynn’s associates. Take a minute and think about how serious that is, and how — but for Comey’s ejection — that would be the dominant story of the news cycle. This looks like the kind of misdirection that he’s become famous for, but it’s increasingly desperate. The media will instinctively want to talk about the decision process (Are bannon and sessions on the rise?) rather than the cover-up. (Cover-ups, like policy, are hard, and hey–both sides). He may have miscalculated.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
I think the hilarious bit in all this is not only did Trump knife the guy who was protecting him in the back, but Trump did it in a way that screams to the world “Yes I am guilty, fuck you” thus stroking the whole scandal.
Patricia Kayden
@Baud: Comey is not a sympathetic character so you’re right about this possibly being interpreted as a win-win. It’s ironic how he intentionally took actions which led to Trump’s election and then Trump in true snake-like fashion turned around and sunk his poisonous fangs in his neck. Karma.
Another Scott
@Baud: I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he picks a she rather than a he. As I mentioned downstairs, I suspect it will be someone either on or close to his transition team, and Pam Bondi was there.
We know he likes people that are either plutocrats or people that he can control. He already knows that Bondi will do his bidding, so she’s got to be at the top of his list. Being a woman (the first) would be another way to try to shift the conversation away from Russia toward what a great “supporter of women, unlike the Democrats…” he is.
I think Giuliani and Christie both have far too much baggage, and Rudy is too old.
We’ll see.
Cheers,
Scott.
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
@Baud: What sticks out in my mind during the campaign is that at the end of one of the debates (IIRC the second one, which was on my 21st birthday), the candidates were asked to say one positive thing about each other. Clinton’s response was an obviously-strained “well he has good kids,” but Trump’s “Hillary is a fighter” came out as atypically sincere — joining the “New York values” moment as the only incident during the election cycle that showed any humanity. That’s the one thing that most makes me think it was an act.
GregB
Gen. Hayden musing on Twitter that it appears the US has become Nicaragua.
zach
@Jinchi:
99% of the memo justifying the firing is consistent with this complaint about Comey’s disclosures… that they were inappropriate because they shielded Clinton from future prosecution. Why the media is running with “Trump fired Comey because he was unfair to Clinton” is beyond me…
Here’s the first relevant point in the Rosenstein memo: “The Director was wrong to usurp the AG’s authority and announce his conclusion that the case should be closed without prosecution.” That the information was, in some respects, derogatory towards Clinton is a secondary point in the memo.
Again, the #1 reason given for Comey’s firing was that his comments jeopardized a Clinton prosecution. This should be in every story but I haven’t seen it mentioned at all.
Kay
The President of the United States is spending the morning attacking the people who are questioning this, on Twitter.
He’s losing it. Again. He sounds like a nut. He gets worse every week. The people who thought he would settle into this role are kidding themselves.
Waldo
@JPL: Ryan and McConnell’s motives don’t need to involve blackmail. Their leadership roles depend on smothering the Russia scandal and keeping the Trump-loving base happy through 2018 and 2020.
Just One More Canuck
Trump is like a renaissance Pope, handing out sinecures like candy to whoever can benefit him in the short term and with no thought or care about what happens after today
Kay
@GregB:
Well, never forget the Republican Party and the conservative brain trust went along with every bit of it. They are responsible for Donald Trump. They could rein him in at any time. They choose not to.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@rumpole: also this week should have been Trump’s victory lap on health care. Instead.
OzarkHillbilly
@Another Scott:
Poor poor Janet Reno, already forgotten. ;-)
Another Scott
@Kay: Putin wants the sanctions lifted, and the freedom to do what he wants in his “sphere of influence” (a concept the West rejects) – the former Soviet Union. That’s why he’s paying off parties that will break the EU and NATO.
Of course he hated and feared Hillary – because it was clear that she would strengthen rather than weaken those things.
Donnie knows what Vlad wants – he said he things we should be friends and he said he thinks that it wouldn’t be a bad thing for the sanctions to be lifted during the campaign.
It’s not about personal animus against Hillary and the Democrats, it’s about Vlad getting what he wants economically and in foreign relations. The biggest threat to Vlad’s power is economic weakness caused by the sanctions (and the low price of oil).
Cheers,
Scott.
Chet Murthy
@Kay: Lemme see if I can convince you.
(1) Russia’s is a hurting petrostate and a former superpower
(2) Putin wants to remedy both of these for obvious reasons
(3) But he is stymied by the Western Alliance (which amongst other things, has orchestrated the precipitous drop in oil prices — recall that the US convince Saudi to pump more oil to start that all off)
(4) and the West similarly has sanctioned his companies, his cronies, and hence, his ability to move his wealth around
(5) both in retaliation and b/c it will aid Russia’s recovery, Putin wants to disrupt and weaken the West in toto
(6) So his attacks against -all- Western states make sense in this framework, right? It’s well-understood that fomenting blood-and-soil nationalism in the many states of West will in the medium/long-term result in tensions between them, and that, AGAIN, is in Putin’s interest. Because Russia (in his plan) will remain united, while the West is disunited.
[Let me note that many foreign policy scholars have argued that that is Israel’s long-term plan in the Middle East — to foment division amongst its neighbors, even to civil war, so that they are small, weak, and fighting amongst themselves, leaving Israel the strongest. It’s not a stupid plan, if you can pull it off.]
So now we come to Clinton. Why did Putin hate Clinton so? B/c she was an effective diplomat who was particularly effective at shoring up our alliances, and specifically argued for undercutting Russia’s ability to make money from its oil in many ways. All of this stirkes directly at the heart of Russia’s ability to project power, and esp. in its near-abroad.
He’s trying to decapitate the leading country of the Western Alliance. To that end, sure, he might like to control it, but it’s already enough to have it weakened by infighting, corruption, and buffoonery.
ETA: Why a congressional majority? B/c he wants those sanctions gone. And if the Dems held Congress, they’d object mightily, eh? Maddow reported that just in one particular regoin, the Exxon deal was in the $500B range. Lotta money.
Svensker
Olivia Nuzzi says WH aides say Giuliani under consideration for FBI head
Ack. Here: https://twitter.com/Olivianuzzi/status/862187065450147846
Betty Cracker
My initial reaction was very similar — appreciation of the irony that Comey was hoist on his own self-righteous petard — while at the same time gobsmacked by the implications of Trump’s action. These are perilous times, no doubt about it.
Another Scott
@OzarkHillbilly: Nuh-uh. Reno was DoJ. ;-)
https://www.fbi.gov/history/directors
But you made me check again. Thanks. :-)
Cheers,
Scott.
schrodingers_cat
@Kay: Putin wants to destroy the United States as a viable political entity. He wants it to meet the fate of the former Soviet Union. Rs are either compromised or they think they can dance with the devil.
Elizabelle
@Svensker: Hi Svensker. Good to see you. Don’t think you are around these parts as much recently, but I could be wrong.
JPL
@Svensker: Supposedly, Rudy said no. I think he has providing info to save his own ass.
OzarkHillbilly
@Another Scott:
Then Bondi will/is/was the first what? Because Reno was first woman to be Attorney General.
Elizabelle
@Just One More Canuck: Barbara Tuchman would be doing a whole new book, were she still with us.
Trump: The March of Folly.
danielx
Can’t….keep….up…..
Another Scott
@OzarkHillbilly: One of us hasn’t had enough caffeine this morning.
Attorney General heads the DoJ.
Director of the FBI is under the DoJ. There has never been a female director of the FBI.
We’re talking about who replaces Comey, former director of the FBI, right? :-)
Gotta run.
Cheers,
Scott.
satby
I like Kevin Drum’s take:
Jinchi
@Baud: Trump doesn’t have to believe she was guilty of anything to believe she should be in jail. He idolizes strongmen like Putin, Sisi, Erdogan and Kim. He sees what they do with their political rivals and he’d like to do the same to anyone who challenges him.
Elizabelle
The Washington Post website is shouting at us. In big font. Multicolumn headline.
Bring on the popcorn.
Steeplejack
@Svensker:
Stephanie Ruhle on MSNBC a while ago said in passing that Giuliani “visited” the White House last night. She didn’t give a source for that.
satby
@danielx: this is the definition of Chaotic Evil in action.
OzarkHillbilly
@Another Scott: DOHHHHHH!!!!!!! Brain fart brain fart brain fart. I blame it on too MUCH coffee. My bad. Don’t ask me how I got AG and FBI director mixed up in my brain but I sure did. Maybe I should just blamer it on my incipient Alzheimers.
And with that colossal fuck up, I bid Adieu, Hasty Banana, auf wiedersehen.
Chris
Yes. We should.
I see this as the equivalent to Colin Powell’s humiliation by the Bush administration. Well deserved and long overdue.
Elizabelle
@satby: Oooh. And the next two paragraphs are just as satisfying. Kevin Drum:
Mr. Pence? Mr. PRBS? To the courtesy phone.
Jinchi
@Svensker:
That would be a hard sell. Agents in the FBI were suspected of leaking internal information about the Clinton investigation to Giuliani during the campaign.
Kay
When will they give up ethical Republicans? I mean, Jesus. These people aren’t going to save anyone from anything. The institutional cavalry isn’t coming. They all failed, they failed months ago and they’re still failing. It gets worse every week. Trump is now daring someone to stop him. It’s much, much worse than it was at the start.
Baud
@Jinchi: Obama is more of a political rival than Clinton is at this point.
Elizabelle
@Chris: I retain affection for Colin Powell. (1) He served his country. (2) He endorsed Obama, at a time when it was a great assist and he certainly did not need to do that. (3) He seems to feel great shame for having allowed himself to be used to sell a fake war. That’s cause for shame, indeed, but alone among the top W folks, it seems to weigh heavily on him. (4) He is loyal to his wonderful wife, and is not a limelight hog.
Eric U.
I have to say it’s not a win-win for us. Comey was the best the U.S. could have hoped for, granted, that’s not saying much. But it’s hard to make predictions, especially about the future. I thought he should have resigned after the election. Can I enjoy his humiliation a little? Of course. Just like everyone else that has tried to get power via Trump. It’s the only thing that’s keeping me alive, the humiliation of everyone in the Republican hierarchy.
Elizabelle
@Jinchi: Yeah, well. White House aides say a lot of dope things. It is what they do.
JPL
After speaking several moments about health care, McConnell is now saying the dems wanted Comey fired.
Yup his discharge from the service is coming back to haunt him.
Chris
@Jinchi:
That is indeed the mainstream opinion from every conservative I’ve heard talk about this (that Comey refused to prosecute a clearly criminal Clinton thus showing that he’s untrustworthy, dirty, and probably bought off by the Clintons and has to go).
And I’m long past believing that their major government figures should know better.
Weaselone
@satby:
Drum’s a moron. He’s operating under the assumption that the old rules still apply. They don’t. This isn’t normal. The new FBI director is going to be a hack and is going to do everything in his or her power to quash the investigation. This crap about Trump won’t do this, or his appointments won’t do that or Congress will act is BS. This past year is littered with these statements and they were all wrong. The existing paradigm is gone. The pundits need to figure that out.
Elizabelle
@Steeplejack: Maybe Giuliani was showing off his very new, freshly received grand jury subpoena? Private convo, and allows Trump/White House to troll — Cleeks Law rules.
Tazj
@Elizabelle: Mr. Pence and Mr. PRBS-craven opportunists.
Elizabelle
@JPL: Oh, please let this take down Turtle McConnell.
He needs shaming and laughing at on his way to eternal damnation. (ie. having to move back home to Kentucky, no longer on the public dole)
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Kay:
Trump is really daring someone to stop him. You’d think someone would rise to the occasion – there would be a lot of support for that person, and that person would become a historical figure on the good side of the ledger in the history of the United States. Not one single Republican has the balls or spine, and I don’t know how a Democrat could access an effective lever.
danielx
Granted that it was too late for Comey’s firing to preempt subpoenas, indictments, etc., one would think that somebody in the administration would have advised Trump that the time to do something like this is traditionally on Friday afternoon. Let the dust settle over the weekend and so forth. For a guy as supposedly media-savvy as Trump, he’s amazingly tone-deaf.
“Can’t anybody here play this game?”
– Bill Veeck
schrodingers_cat
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: Rs are afraid of the base.
Just One More Canuck
@Elizabelle: I love that book
montanareddog
@Baud:
Someone in earlier thread brought up Frankfurter’s theory of bullshit. Did that theory not opine that the true bullshitter believes their own bullshit? That is why they are able to propagate it convincingly and without any feelings of guilt. And Trump, seems to me, to be a master of persuading himself of the truth of anything that is convenient for him. A true sociopath?
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@schrodingers_cat:
There isn’t one Republican with balls. Not one.
Chet Murthy
@montanareddog: Indeed, the (worth reading to fully appreciate) punchline of his book, is that “in the end, sincerity is bullshit”. The best way to convince the mark, that what you’re peddling is the truth, is to actually believe it yourself. It’s what salesfolk know too: “salesmen don’t want to know too much about the product — it gets in the way of being sincere with the customer”.
But it’s also a hallmark of an excellent salesman, that he’s able to change his beliefs on a dime. [there was an excellent Dexter episode about this — the one with the minivan and the car salesman (Roger?)] So it’s completely possible that he no longer believes that HRC should go to jail. Then again, he still might.
bemused
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
No humanity, no balls.
Vhh
@JPL: In general, pardons are given after conviction. Ford’s pardon of Nixon before indictment was the huge exception, and it caused a huge furor that cost Ford the 1980 GOP nomination. Trump would be insane to try that. But wait …..
The Moar You Know
I’ve been laughing for almost 24 hours now. Fucking idiot calls himself a cop. Somehow ignores that his suspect has a history of stabbing every single person he’s ever done business with in the back and lends said suspect a helping hand, many times. Is somehow surprised as his suspect runs him over with a bus and then backs up and does it a few more times.
I’ve seen many stupid people in my life, but James Comey is one of the dumber ones.
Now, it’s time to practice my “sieg heil” salute. Wanna be in tip-top shape when the new Gauleiter comes around.
Chet Murthy
@Vhh: GHWB pardoned his iran-contra co-conspirators, some of whom most definitely weren’t yet convicted. E.g. Weinberger. The special prosecutor was very, very bitter, wrote a screed about how those pardons effectively destroyed his prosecution.
Weaselone
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
Honestly, the thing that floors me is not that there isn’t some decent Republican out there with balls, a spine and a conscience, it’s that they all seem completely oblivious to history. To stop an autocrat or dictator from seizing power, you need to act immediately. You don’t wait around for them to do the things you want done, and sit on your hands until you belatedly come to realize they’re actually in a position to usurp power from your branch of government. If you wait that long, it’s too late.
Elizabelle
Kay bait. From Fuck the Fucking New York Times: recap of late night television (which is the only place safe for truth to power, so it seems, with 24 hours of programming each day):
Trevor Noah Isn’t Buying Trump’s Reason for Firing James Comey
Discuss.
tobie
Yurtle says no to a special prosecutor. Defends Comey’s firing. What a craven POS.
Chris
@Weaselone:
What makes you think they give a shit if the country ends up a dictatorship?
Elizabelle
@tobie: So much more pleasure, once Yurtle gets his comeuppance. Because he will.
@Weaselone: They’re being the cattle standing around in the slaughterhouse yard they always accuse libtards of being. Trump has not set the bar that high for them to appear less craven than he is. And yet still. Their balls. Where are they?
JPL
@Vhh: He is insane.
In the olden days, there was a price to be paid, but McConnell will defend him.
hovercraft
@danielx:
He waited this long guys, do you know how hard that was for him? And the media was soo fixated on these Russia investigations that he just had to put stop to them. All you people who think the investigation will continue just don’t know Twitler, he picks the best people! He’ll pick someone as convinced as him that the probe is fake and unnecessary, someone like Pam Bondi, she’s as clean as a whistle, no hint of scandal, evah! What’s that about 25K, nah she cleared that up, that was just an honest mistake, promise. The media have been willing to move onto the next thing for the last two years, he’ll make sure to give them plenty of distractions to move them on from this mini-scandal, just wait and see.
Vhh
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: I have dealt with narcissists in my professional life. You are correct in saying Trump is daring people to stop him. That is what they all do. They then scream, howl and hit back when someone tries it. Normal people shy away from these encounters, so the narcissist’s unreality bubble grows and grows, until finally so much damage is done that people band together to limit or destroy the threat to the common good. See the Hitler final meltdown in the film Downfall (on YouTube), based on eyewitness reports and played to perfection by Bruno Ganz.
tobie
@Elizabelle: Thanks, Elizabelle. Your comment made me feel a bit better. I need to be able to chuckle if I’m going to have resolve to fight.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Does anybody hear anything from the senate? Schumer demanded all the Dems to be there at 9:30, which sounded ominous (in a good way), like he had some significant Democratic action in mind.
Immanentize
@tobie: Do you mean McConnell said no to a special congressional commission? He has no power regarding a special prosecutor.
rikyrah
@Kay:
they were ALWAYS kidding themselves,Kay.
tobie
@Immanentize: Sorry…my phrasing wasn’t precise. According to Politico McConnell rejects the call for a special prosecutor. Says it would impede the current investigation.
Kay
Was anyone at the FBI investigating FOX in relation to the gross sexist and racist sewer that Fox is?
They’re probably thrilled that the GOP is shutting down all investigations. Multi-millionaire news celebrity paychecks are on the line.
If this gets really bad they’ll be a long list of wealthy and powerful people to blame. FOX played a huge role.
Elizabelle
The famous Bruno Ganz/downfall scene.
Have to say, “Hitler” shows more self control than der Trumpf is likely to.
Tom
@Vhh: And for fun, watch the versions that are subtitled for Superbowl 49 (where Hitler bets the Reich’s gold reserves on the Seahawks) and Superbowl 51 (where Hitler says “Everybody who believes the Ideal Gas Law is an alternative fact, leave the room now!”)
zhena gogolia
@Vhh:
For all the times I’ve watched that scene to laugh at the funny subtitles, when I watch the original scene it still sends shivers down my back. It is an unbelievable performance.
Felonius Monk
@Elizabelle:
Assumes facts not in evidence. IMO, Yurtle is compromised by the Ruskies. He opposed Obama making the Russian interference public prior to the election. His wife is a member of Trump’s cabinet. His behavior since the election has been pretty consistent with someone who does not want this investigation to proceed.
Elizabelle
@Kay: I sound like a broken record, but we need to take bad actors like FOX out of the mix.
First Amendment or not, FOX’s actions are a direct threat to self-governance and democracy, and are particularly insidious and effective. Murdoch has poisoned the USA, UK and — to a lesser extent — Australia.
No one should want to enable Joseph Goebbels of the 21st century, or Radio Milles Collines (Rwanda hate radio) on such a huge scale, and that is where we find ourselves.
To protect our elections and our democracy, we need to check their power. Out-informing does not work when the audience has been radicalized and made cynical.
Elizabelle
@zhena gogolia: Yeah. Ganz is superb.
Maybe time for that movie to come back to the theatres. I’d pay to see it on a full screen.
randy khan
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
My sense was that it was more in the way of being able to respond to whatever the Majority Leader did than that there was a specific action planned, but I could be wrong.
hovercraft
deleted
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Everyone, even the might DougJ is over thinking this; Donald Trump is transactional is the key thing here. In all interactions with another living being Trump must win and the other one must lose.
Comey was the perfect man for Trump to run the FBI for the Russian Scandal; a loyal GOPers with a record of harassing Democrats, so can be trusted to protect the GOP brand, appointed by Obama, so can’t be accused of being a Trump lacky. But Comey didn’t owe Trump for being FBI director and Trump can’t imagine Comey not wanting nothing in return for protecting Trump, and in Trump’s mind if he has to give Comey something, Trump will be a loser, so Comey had to go. But of course anyone else who takes the job of FBI Director is automatically implicated in the scandal, and did I get that right, Guilania the former prosecutor, declined the offer?
Second – why doesn’t Trump just pardon Flyn? Sure everyone would freak, but with a pardon Flyn wouldn’t need to talk to the prosecutors anyone else involved would know Trump has their back and that would end the investigation. Again, Transactional Donald; what’s Flyn giving Trump in return? Only weak losers give stuff away for free so no pardon for Flyn,
lollipopguild
Every time I think trump has hit bottom in his craven stupidity he surprises me, and not in a good way. He really should have left Comey alone, but trump must be trump. This blows things out into the open in a large way and will force people who were not paying attention to pay attention.
lollipopguild
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Trump is thinking that the minute he fires Comey all of the Democrats will cheer and the Russia shitstorm goes away. Wrong! An intelligent person would have told trump that firing Comey just makes things worse, but even if someone told trump this he is not going to listen,
randy khan
Over at LGM, joho9119 points out that even the justification memo was wrong – Lynch specifically said that she was going to rely on the FBI’s recommendation as to whether to prosecute Clinton, so that whole bit about how Comey had usurped the role of the prosecutors is based on him doing what his boss asked him to do.
Another Scott
@Felonius Monk: Yup, yup, yup.
:-(
Cheers,
Scott.
I'll be Frank
meh, now he’s free to collect his “pro quo.”
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@lollipopguild:
Yes, exactly, in Trump’s mind the Dem’s now owe Trump. That’s why he was calling it a “Win-win”. Always tranactional.
This is all the act of a man with a child’s brain and not the second coming of Richard Nixon or Putin’s faithful student.
Archon
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
I don’t believe for a second Trump and Jeff Sessions thought Democrats would applaud the decision to fire Comey. The idea that people think this is some “miscalculation” does cloud the issue enough for him to possibly get away with this and put a crony at the head of the FBI who will squash the Russia investigation.
Origuy
Don’t forget about Putin’s internal audience. Showing the Western democracies as weak and chaotic strengthens his hand with his authority-loving base and discredits his opponents.
DougJ
@Weaselone:
I tend to agree with you on this