James Comey
May 1, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
James Comey is beginning to remind me of David Brock. In the mid 1990s, Brock wrote a book that criticized Hillary Clinton, though not to the degree many on the right hoped for. He then spent the next two decades sucking up to Hillary. Comey publicly criticized Clinton’s handling of classified emails, though he did not lower the boom that many on the right hoped for. Now Comey seems obsessed
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April 30, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
I agree with Scott that Andy McCarthy is an invaluable source of informed analysis regarding the Clinton email scandal and the collusion hysteria. There is no one whose analysis has been more helpful to my thinking about these matters. The column McCarthy published this weekend on James Comey’s role in the Clinton email scandal represents another valuable contribution. I want to make two points about this piece, at least one
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April 30, 2018 — Scott Johnson
The self-glorifying book tour of former FBI Director James Comey continues for the indefinite future. In his weekly National Review column this past Saturday, Andrew McCarthy conducts a reality check. In the column he explicated one thread of Comey’s comments in the interview with Bret Baier on FOX News last week. McCarthy’s column is headlined “Comey Confirms: In Clinton emails caper, the fix was in.” Subhead: “He knew Obama’s Justice
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April 28, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
James Comey is a legend in his own mind. He expressed part of the legend to Donald Trump when, according to one his memos, he told the president on January 27, 2017: He could count on me to always tell him the truth. I said I don’t do sneaky things, I don’t leak, I don’t do weasel moves. Yet, as Peter Berkowitz reminds us, after Trump fired him, Comey violated
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April 27, 2018 — Scott Johnson
Former FBI Director James Comey appeared on the FOX News Special Report with Bret Baier for an interview that spread over two segments last night. The first segment ran 19 minutes. It is embedded below. The second segment ran seven minutes. It is embedded below. Baier was prepared and produced several highlights in the course of the two segments. I was disappointed that he broke so little new ground with
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April 26, 2018 — Scott Johnson
Yesterday evening CNN assembled a friendly audience of youngsters ripe for former FBI Director James Comey’s pitch. Comey was pitching himself and his memoir paying tribute to himself, in roughly that order. One interesting exchange came out of it (video below), as Anderson Cooper asked Comey a few questions about the leaking of the memos of his conversations with President Trump to his “friend” the Columbia Law School professor Daniel
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April 25, 2018 — Scott Johnson
In its first week on sale, James Comey’s memoir cum manifesto A Higher Loyalty sold 600,000 copies in all formats (print, audio, and electronic). By contrast, Joe Concha reminds us, Hillary Clinton’s memoir cum apologia What Happened, sold 300,000 copies in its first week. Whereas Comey is one of the many villains of Hillary’s story, Comey is the hero of his own. I find it hard to believe that anyone
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April 24, 2018 — Scott Johnson
Catching up with the Wall Street Journal yesterday, I found Saturday’s Journal editorial “Mr. Comey’s bad week.” The editorial focuses on the Comey memos that I posted together with my 10 notes on them. My notes overlap in part with the points made in the Journal editorial as it uses the memos to make “a weasel assessment.” The Journal editorial makes one good point that I missed and one critical
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April 22, 2018 — Scott Johnson
Former FBI Director James Comey documented his conversations with President Trump in seven memos (15 pages in all) produced in redacted form by the Department of Justice to Congress last week. I am embedding them below. I want to offer a few, mostly obvious notes and queries on the memos. I think they warrant your attention. Except as part of the perpetual Trump hatefest on CNN and MSNBC, insufficient attention
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April 20, 2018 — John Hinderaker
I was on the Howie Carr show a little while ago, talking about the release of James Comey’s memos on his conversations with Donald Trump. Scott has already weighed in on the memos, which you can read in his post or here, and Paul has noted the reaction of Bob Goodlatte, Trey Gowdy and Devin Nunes. These are my thoughts, for what they are worth: 1) The memos do nothing
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April 20, 2018 — Scott Johnson
In her weekly Wall Street Journal column Kim Strassel formulates 11 “basic questions” for Comey to answer some time on his book tour promoting himself as our tutor in ethical leadership. They are all good questions. Here are six of them: • You admit the Christopher Steele dossier was still “unverified” when the FBI used it as the basis of a surveillance warrant against Carter Page. Please explain. Also explain
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April 19, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes released the following statement after the Committees received James Comey’s memos. Their statement is, I believe, spot on: We have long argued former Director Comey’s self-styled memos should be in the public domain, subject to any classification redactions. These memos are significant for both
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April 19, 2018 — Scott Johnson
Responding to long-standing requests from congressional committees reiterated this week, the Department of Justice has finally released redacted copies of the seven memos drafted by former FBI Director James Comey summarizing his conversations with Donald Trump. The department is expected to deliver unredacted versions of the memos to the committees on Friday via a secure transfer. Although he prepared the memos in the course of his professional duties as FBI
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April 16, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
James Comey’s book and interview tour may enable him gain personal enrichment and public attention. However, they will further stain his reputation within the FBI. That, at least, is the conclusion I reach from this article in the Daily Beast. Jana Winter reports: James Comey’s first interview since President Trump fired him as director of the FBI has enraged his former agents who deluged the Daily Beast with their disdain
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April 16, 2018 — Scott Johnson
Last night ABC broadcast its special edition of 20/20 carrying the interview of former FBI Director James Comey by former Clinton flack George Stephanopoulos. ABC has posted the transcript of the interview online together with video excerpts. It’s a friendly interview of a difficult subject. Stephanopoulos is helping Comey sell books; tomorrow is the official publication date of Comey’s memoir. Comey continues his bid for addition to Mount Rushmore or
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April 15, 2018 — Scott Johnson
At the Daily Caller, Chuck Ross reports that Republican chairmen of three House committees have demanded that the Department of Justice provide copies of the memos written by former FBI Director James Comey following his meetings with President Trump. “There is no legal basis for withholding these materials from Congress,” according to the letter by Reps. Bob Goodlatte, Trey Gowdy, and Devin Nunes sent to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein
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April 13, 2018 — John Hinderaker
Today President Trump joined the ranks of pundits commenting on Andrew McCabe’s terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day. Via Twitter, of course: DOJ just issued the McCabe report – which is a total disaster. He LIED! LIED! LIED! McCabe was totally controlled by Comey – McCabe is Comey!! No collusion, all made up by this den of thieves and lowlifes! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2018 Actually, McCabe
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