James Comey
December 10, 2019 — Scott Johnson
Upon the release of the Department of Justice Inspector General report documenting serious misconduct at the FBI in conducting a counterintelligence investigation of the Trump campaign, former FBI Director James Comey proclaimed victory in a Washington Post column (accessible here via Outline). He takes the occasion to assert vindication and bash Trump. He seeks to exploit the ignorance of readers who get their news from the Washington Post. As usual,
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August 31, 2019 — Scott Johnson
Having read an advance copy of Andrew McCarthy’s Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency, I posted my review/appreciation on the book’s official publication date earlier this month under the heading “All the president’s men, Obama style.” In the book McCarthy provides a penetrating analytical framework within which to understand the biggest scandal by far in American political history. The Department of Justice Inspector
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August 30, 2019 — Scott Johnson
Yesterday the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General released its long awaited report on certain elements of James Comey’s misconduct as Director of the FBI. Contrary to his assurance to President Trump — an assurance that projected something of his essence — the report demonstrates that Comey is a weasel (and worse). He is also (again to borrow the words of his own denial to Trump) a sneak, a
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August 29, 2019 — John Hinderaker
The Inspector General for the Department of Justice released his report on his investigation of former FBI Director James Comey’s handling of FBI documents this morning. You can read the full report here. The report addresses the seven memos that Comey wrote on his meetings and conversations with President-Elect and President Trump, some of which he kept copies of in his home safe and gave to his personal lawyers. In
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August 28, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Byron York reports that Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department’s inspector general, is preparing a report on the conduct of fired FBI Director James Comey. This report will be separate from Horowitz’s larger report on the DOJ’s handling of the Trump-Russia probe. According to Byron’s sources, the separate report on Comey will deal with his handling of several memos he wrote memorializing conversations with President Trump. Byron observes: Comey’s memos were,
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July 22, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Real Clear Investigations reports that Inspector General Michael Horowitz will say in his upcoming report that, although James Comey told President Trump he was not a target in the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, Comey had actually been spying on Trump to see if the president was colluding with Russia. If an Obama-appointed Justice Department official so concludes after a lengthy investigation, it will be devastating for
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June 17, 2019 — Scott Johnson
Jack Handey gave us this deep thought: If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is “God is crying.” And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is “Probably because of something you did.” James Comey gave us this deep thought. Political candidates and elected officials should not talk about the future prosecution of any individual.
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May 21, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Eventually the “holier than thou” find themselves at loggerheads with the rest of the world. Call it the revenge of the “thous.” In James Comey’s mind, no one is as holy as he is. People he used to respect, like Rod Rosenstein and William Barr, certainly aren’t. President Trump ate their souls. Comey admits the same thing nearly happened to him, but he was holy enough to pull back from
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May 18, 2019 — Scott Johnson
FOX News has now posted Bill Hemmer’s entire interview with Attorney General William Barr in San Salvador (video below). In the course of this fantastic interview Hemmer asked a series of questions about Barr’s investigation of the Russia hoax. All of Barr’s answers throughout, including his discreet nonresponses and amused smiles, are of intense interest. Yesterday I quoted Barr: “What I will say is that I’ve been trying to get
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May 17, 2019 — Scott Johnson
The current conflict between John Brennan and James Comey — see Vivek Saxena’s compilation here — puts Saxena in mind of Mad Magazine’s long-running Spy Versus Spy feature. It puts me in mind of the Iran-Iraq war according to Henry Kissinger: “It’s a pity both sides can’t lose.” Well, maybe both sides can lose. Bill Hemmer sat down with Attorney General Barr in San Salvador yesterday. Hemmer took the opportunity
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May 9, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Earlier this month, the New York Times published an op-ed by James Comey in which the former FBI director claimed that President Trump “eats your soul in small bites.” Talk about demonizing your adversaries. Comey must not have read Robert Mueller’s report very carefully. One of Mueller’s findings is that members of Trump’s team didn’t carry out his instructions when they believed the instructions were wrongful. Don McGahn, then the
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April 12, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Things haven’t gone well for James Comey lately. First, his friend Robert Mueller found no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia, and did not find that President Trump obstructed justice by firing Comey or by any other action. And now Attorney General William Barr says he needs to explore whether the intelligence community engaged in improper spying on the Trump campaign. Comey responded to Barr’s statements, saying: With
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March 24, 2019 — Scott Johnson
Former Obama administration FBI Director James Comey was a protagonist in the investigation of the Trump campaign and the subsequent effort to undermine Trump from inside the Trump administration. In the service of his efforts he put the Clinton campaign’s Steele Dossier to use both before and after the election. It is the biggest political scandal in American political history. Nothing else comes close. On his way out the door
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December 24, 2018 — Scott Johnson
In this series we have sought to recall what we have learned so far in the matter of the greatest scandal in our history — the one underlying the presidential election of 2016, from the Clinton campaign to the highest reaches of the Obama administration. UC Berkeley School of Law Heller Professor and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo wrote at FOX News over the weekend: A transcript [of
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December 21, 2018 — Scott Johnson
In her weekly Wall Street Journal column (accessible here via Outline) Kim Strassel notes what we have learned so far regarding “one of the greatest dirty tricks of our political times.” Kim, strike “one of the.” Making points we have made several times, noting a loose thread and calling for the declassification of documents revealing the rest of the story, Kim writes: House and Senate investigators get pride of place
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December 19, 2018 — John Hinderaker
James Comey testified before the House Judiciary and Oversight and Reform committees yesterday. He was his usual smarmy, partisan, dishonest self. A couple of tweets by Congressmen who witnessed his testimony sum it up: Yes, this is the real transcript of my exchange with Jim Comey. No, I didn’t make this up. pic.twitter.com/bRc4U2Tda4 — John Ratcliffe (@RepRatcliffe) December 19, 2018 And this: 1/24/17: FBI interviews Gen. Flynn. 3 days later:
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December 19, 2018 — Scott Johnson
Former FBI Director James Comey appeared on Monday for a second day of testimony before the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees. The 173-page transcript was made public yesterday afternoon. I have embedded it below. I noted Comey’s first day of testimony last week in “Comey doesn’t know and can’t recall.” I made a related point in “A Comey contradiction.” The 2016 presidential election produced an unexpected outcome. In its aftermath
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