I know, who cares, but fuck this guy:
Donald Trump should not be federally prosecuted once he leaves the White House no matter how much evidence has been amassed against him, the former FBI director James Comey writes in a new book.
The next US attorney general, under Joe Biden, should not “pursue a criminal investigation of Donald Trump”, Comey writes, “no matter how compelling the roadmap left” by the special counsel Robert Mueller, or “how powerful the evidence strewn across his history of porn stars and financial fraud”.
“Although those cases might be righteous in a vacuum,” Comey writes, “the mission of the next attorney general must be fostering the trust of the American people.”
Any guesses at a title of his book? Here it is, kids: “Saving Justice: Truth, Transparency and Trust”. The sound you just heard was irony booking a vacation to a warm spot while I typed that fucking travesty of a title. I was thinking it should be called “Only Bad Ideas, Volume 2”, but I’m not feeling very creative today.
dmsilev
Why does any newspaper, even the Guardian, give him a platform to preen about his own self-righteousness?
Edmund Dantes
Comey needs to fuck off already. He’s always been a Republican. And here he is being one again.
Dems need to stop putting GOP daddies in FBI, CIA, and other posts.
dmsilev
According to the Post,. Biden is planning to nominate Merrick Garland as AG. Not sure I like the idea, though now that the Democrats can confirm a replacement for his seat it’s better than it was last week.
Bighorn Ordovician Dolomite
I’ve been using the phrase “crock of shit” quite a bit lately. This book looks like yet another chance for that phrase to shine.
Patricia Kayden
Thankfully, no one gives a dang about Comey’s tone deaf opinions. He cost Secretary Clinton the 2016 election and we should never let him forget that.
Privileged prick.
RandomMonster
A few minor edits would result in a workable title, such as “Savaging Justice: My Violations of Truth, Transparency and Trust”.
Roger Moore
I was thinking Reminding You Why I Have No Credibility.
Gravenstone
@dmsilev: How much you want to bet Republicans balk because they’re afraid he’ll have a “personal vendetta” against them? That alone might be worth the price of admission.
Mike J
Rather than prosecuting him, he should be dragged out back into the alley and every American handed a set of brass knuckles and allowed to stand in line to await their turn to administer justice.
I fear this is not practical though, and not, strictly speaking, adhering to the tenets of rule of law.
zhena gogolia
How about a front-page post on Abrams, Ossoff, or Warnock?
ETA: Oh well, I’ll be off the blog for a couple of hours anyway.
Barbara
Ted Lieu was all over this on twitter, but for me, what this telegraphs is that Comey’s law enforcement decisions as head of the FBI were informed by political considerations. It became clearer in 2016 in his despicable treatment of Clinton, but it was probably the case throughout his tenure. I will note that Harry Reid told Obama not to make him head of the FBI because of his preening sanctimony — which we now know is apparently a kind of bluster to cover up that he is playing politician. He really, really, needs to shut up.
Also, I noted the discussion re what Stacy Abrams “should” do next last night, and I wanted to add my thought to that very dead thread that when you meet someone as inspired and successful as Stacy Abrams, you should be the one listening to what what she tells you to do — not vice versa.
Four Seasons Total Landscaping mistermix
@dmsilev:
I agree that it wasn’t a great idea when we couldn’t be sure of his replacment, but I also wish he’d appoint someone who has experience at the DoJ in the current century. Barr’s damage is best fixed by someone who served at Justice in the Obama Administration rather than the Carter Administration (Garland).
scav
Poor dear, still with delusions of being someone who matters.
Elizabelle
@Barbara: Great comment.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
“Laws are for the little people” or “I miss Louis XIV so much”?
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Patricia Kayden: More to the point Comey threw the election for a guy who was shopping himself to the Russians and Comey knew it.
The Moar You Know
Well, fuck, if this is the standard going forward, let’s not prosecute anyone for anything.
Comey is unique. Hatred of the man is one of the last bipartisan sentiments Americans have left.
Wyatt Salamanca
James Comey is an execrable, sanctimonious scumbag motherfucker who should take a monastic vow of silence for the rest of his fucking life.
Mike in NC
Comey gave us four rotten years of Trumpism just as much as Putin did. Screw that moron.
Baud
@The Moar You Know:
Maybe we can unite the country by prosecuting Comey.
Frankensteinbeck
@Barbara:
I think he is so full of himself that he never checks his biases. What feels right to him must be the path of virtue and honesty. He hated Clinton because she was a woman and had sort of been his boss, so it was easy to find excuses to savage her in public. Plus, he fucked that up so badly that he has to double down, because he knows in his heart that sabotaging Hillary was the right thing to do.
hueyplong
Before now, I wasn’t imaginative enough to conjure the thought that someone — anyone — would turn to Comey for advice/judgment going forward.
“Hey, gang, let’s get out of this mess by asking advice from one of the idiots most responsible for getting us into this mess.”
jimmiraybob
Pardon me but I’m gonna go full-on raving uber-conservative. Actions have consequences. People need to be held accountable. Rule of Law. Nobody is above the law.
Now, from the radical far-leftist me: Actions have consequences. People need to be held accountable. Rule of Law. Nobody is above the law.
Hmmmm, there seems to be some overlap.
Bruuuuce
@dmsilev: I guess that’s one of the other ways to get to the Supreme Court. I might have preferred outgoing Sen. Jones (and would have LOVED to see Preet Bharara), but this should do.
The Moar You Know
@zhena gogolia: We have a few. And there’s little more to report until the official counts are all done, which won’t be until Friday, as Friday’s the deadline for military absentee. 17,000 of those are expected, I think. The big question at the moment is does Ossoff hold his lead, and is that lead big enough to rule out the Georgia automatic recount? Not gonna know the answer to that for a couple of days.
Ken
Let the states at him first, then? I can see going with that, and keeping the federal charges in reserve.
Or the tax court; it’s federal, but IIRC has a weird position off to one side.
Cameron
Christ, this bozo can’t even plagiarize Superman right. It’s “truth, justice, and the American Way,” asshole.
Ken
@jimmiraybob: So the Horseshoe Theory of politics has a good side.
catclub
@Patricia Kayden:
He cost Secretary Clinton the 2016 election because he selfishly ignored and violated FBI and DOJ guidance on elections and investigations.
jonas
@Bighorn Ordovician Dolomite: I wonder if part of this isn’t to make sure they can appoint a good liberal jurist to fill Garland’s spot on the DC court of appeals — that’s a pretty critical appeals court. I would have liked to have seen Doug Jones or Chris Murphy at AG, but I’m sure Garland will be fine. (Or Adam Schiff, but his confirmation would be a Category-5 shitstorm and Biden isn’t going there)
catclub
@Ken: I wonder if Trump will give himself an all purpose pardon (any and all federal crimes, at any time). I think that works better for him than naming the things he needs to self pardon for.
TheronWare
SDNY is on it.
Bluegirlfromwyo
I like the title Self-Righteous Reflections of a Hack Disguised as a Law Enforcement Officer. Too long?
Poe Larity
Perhaps Kenneth Starr and Alberto Gonzales should weigh-in on this.
khead
Trump burning through GA like Sherman on the TeeVee.
charluckles
@Barbara:
I have to agree. Comey, is still putting political considerations ahead of concerns about justice and the law.
But also, WTF: “the mission of the next attorney general must be fostering the trust of the American people.”
You are going to foster trust in the American people by furthering the ideal that elites are not subject to the same system of justice as us plebes? How does that work? Millions of Americans have seen more than sufficient evidence of Trump’s criminality. How does letting him off foster trust in the justice system?
patrick II
I’m sorry, but wasn’t pursuing an investigation of Trump and the Trump campaign exactly what Comey was doing when he got fired? If it wasn’t a criminal investigation — to what end? Control and suppression? Blackmail? Good grades on his personal job appraisal?
Isn’t he from the same party that investigated Clinton for years because he lost money on White Water, his wife shot Vince Foster, and Bill only got a blow job from one non-wife during his presidency?
Didn’t his buddies at the F.B.I. carry out a criminal investigation of Hillary ‘s emails?
It’s as dumb as Trump, but more pompous.
catclub
Plus he could not do his job managing his agency’s employees.
narya
@Barbara: Re: Abrams–if I were Joe, I’d be on the phone with her and asking her what she wants and how he can help her get that.
I’m okay w/ Garland as AG, for reasons noted by others above, but I also want a spot somewhere big for Jones.
Hoodie
Comey is a pompous moron. That said, the new AG might want to seek appointment of a special counsel to deal with matters Trump unearthed by the Mueller probe so as to segregate it from the other important business of the department, like civil rights enforcement and white collar criminality. Hate to say it, but Comey is somewhat correct that there is a lot to do to clean up the damage in Justice after years of fuckery by Barr and his predecessors.
MattF
Pence sends letter to Congress saying he can’t do what Trump wants.
Barbara
@Bruuuuce: I never saw Bharara on any short lists for AG and I wonder whether he told Biden he didn’t want it, because he is an obvious candidate. Maybe he wants to go back to SDNY or is planning to try to succeed Schumer when that happens.
Re: Garland — He is just first class from the perspective of legal chops and integrity, and his appointment cannot be “controversied” to death. That is the downside of someone like Sally Yates. From a tactical standpoint, it frees up a seat in the DC Circuit. Only downside, I think, is that he has never run a bureaucracy, but as AG he really shouldn’t have to. Nonetheless, there are a lot of bodies buried there.
Raven
Chuckles just read a letter Pence wrote saying he had no power to change the vote but, if people wanted to object they could.
lofgren
It’s kinda weird how Democrats never get to prosecute Republicans for their crimes in office, because whenever they lose it’s time for “healing” after all of the “partisan rancor” and “war crimes” that marred the last administration. Like I guess people should only go to jail for committing crimes if everybody involved is totally zen about it?
Frank Wilhoit
Obligatory broken record: We got where we are by letting people off the hook.
jonas
…while scrupulously adhering to that prescribed discretion wrt the investigation into the Trump campaign’s Russia ties at the same time. Funny that.
The Thin Black Duke
Don’t be surprised if Comey winds up as a talking head on Fox.
Barbara
@charluckles: Yes, that’s a great observation. It also exposes the rotten truth that protecting wealthy well-connected people is such an ingrained habit of our law enforcement system that Comey can say something like that without any apparent irony.
I will also add that I neither want nor don’t want Trump to be prosecuted. I want someone to do a thorough review and make a decision based on whether there is evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
Roger Moore
@dmsilev:
I saw that too. I assume this is the reason he’s delayed announcing the AG pick. If Warnock and Ossoff won, he would choose Garland and be able to appoint his replacement as judge. If not, he would probably go with Doug Jones, who as a former Senator would have a better chance of being confirmed.
Ruckus
@Barbara:
I like your style.
Could use a bit/lot of swearing but I understand that is not everyone’s taste.
The Moar You Know
@The Thin Black Duke: I would be. He won’t end up anywhere. The Trumpistas hate him with the heat of a thousand suns for not arresting Hillary Clinton, and not exonerating their God-King. He’s going to have a lot of free time on his hands, because he’s pretty much unhireable in America.
MisterForkbeard
@MattF: Doing the bare minimum of his legal duties. Congrats, I guess.
@Barbara: I think Bharara was not an obvious candidate except for zealous partisans. He’s made a lot of statements about how awful Trump is and how bad Republicans are lately, and he’d have absolutely zero bipartisan cover or cred. The media would be talking about how any prosecutions or investigations against republicans were politically motivated, etc.
That’s the big strength of a Garland pick, I think: Republicans are on the record as saying he’s a good dependable person and he hasn’t made any prejudicial statements about Trump or Republican behavior.
retiredeng
“Warm spot” – You mean the warm feeling of peeing his pants?
geg6
@narya:
How about as replacement for Garland?
Ruckus
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
Really how much more political could he be and even have a job that he was not elected to? My estimate is about 90% less.
moops
God, does the MSM have such a crush on Comey. He is like the ultimate clickbait. Everyone clicks through to rage-read his op-eds. He won’t get a gig at Fox. He will be a regularly appearing jackass on the regular networks and in the NYT and WashPo, or guh, the Atlantic. He is going to be pissing us off for at least a decade.
rikyrah
@narya:
Why can’t Jones head the Civil Rights Division
boatboy_srq
Good candidate for “fool me once, shame on you;… ” as Shrub would have said.
Ruckus
@hueyplong:
Well he is rather close to the one with the most information about criminal activities, maybe he thought he could participate in that best?
Bruuuuce
@Barbara: I never saw Bharara on short lists either. It’s entirely possible that he’s happy in private practice. But he would have been a sterling candidate.
Amir Khalid
Comey’s argument puzzles me. He says prosecuting Trump will look to Republicans like partisan payback, and alienate them. But Biden has said that he won’t use the DoJ as a partisan weapon; it is to decide for itself what to investigate and whom to prosecute. A non-partisan observer would see plenty of things that Trump must be held accountable for, and would expect to see Trump prosecuted.
Were the DoJ to forgo prosecuting Trump despite all that, many people, not just partisan Democrats, would see it as failure to uphold the rule of law. And then they would be alienated. Does Comey think that a good outcome?
Ruckus
@Ken:
No, it’s just comey bullshit all the way down.
Ruckus
@charluckles:
Of course it isn’t trust that he wants, it’s the ability to buy your way out of any political bullshit that conservatives always seem to be getting into, somehow.
Matt McIrvin
@Amir Khalid:
Don’t threaten me with a good time.
jimmiraybob
@Ken:
Actually, I call it the Theory of Citing Conservative Mantra to “Conservative” MAGA Friends, Family and Acquaintances. Otherwise known as the Theory of Neener Neener. It’s a real bamboozler.
jimmiraybob
@Bighorn Ordovician Dolomite:
Actually, I just want to say that I’ve had many a good time treading on you.
kindness
Comey should go fuck himself. Preferrably with some rusty farm tool.
Brachiator
This is just stupid.
Robmassing
You know who is righteous in a vacuum? James F-ing Comey, that’s who.
Gravenstone
@jimmiraybob: Maybe you two should get a room? //
JanieM
@Barbara:
I would like to send this quote to every pundit writing in English, not to mention more than a few bloggers and blog commenters.
I’ve never admired or respected a public figure as much as I do Stacey Abrams. She takes the long view, she isn’t intimidated by anything or anyone, she gets shit done.
jimmiraybob
Technically, I prefer doing it in the great outdoors of Wyoming. :)
JDM
How do you foster trust in our system by refusing to prosecute career criminals?