James Comey for President

The more of I see of the guy, the more I like him.  I suppose his views on certain social issues might differ from mine, but he seems like a fine person.

tjohn said:

The more of I see of the guy, the more I like him.  I suppose his views on certain social issues might differ from mine, but he seems like a fine person.

I was thinking the same. He is rock solid.

Another view.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/james-comeys-abuse-of-power/2016/07/06/7799d39e-4392-11e6-8856-f26de2537a9d_story.html

that's my view. Especially seems inappropriate coming from a life-long Republican. It doesn't make him look "independent," it makes him look partisan (which he probably is).

LOST said:

Another view.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/james-comeys-abuse-of-power/2016/07/06/7799d39e-4392-11e6-8856-f26de2537a9d_story.html

I'm glad a Republican, in effect, made the call to not prosecute instead of A.G. Lynch.

if that's all he did, without all the editorializing, I'd agree. But anyone, even us regular joes, would find ourselves thinking it was outrageous if law enforcement investigated us, cleared us of a crime, but then decided to make a statement that made it sound like we actually had committed a crime.  to do so with regard to a presidential nominee is as the WaPo called it, an abuse of power.

tjohn said:

I'm glad a Republican, in effect, made the call to not prosecute instead of A.G. Lynch.

ml1 said:

if that's all he did, without all the editorializing, I'd agree. But anyone, even us regular joes, would find ourselves thinking it was outrageous if law enforcement investigated us, cleared us of a crime, but then decided to make a statement that made it sound like we actually had committed a crime.  to do so with regard to a presidential nominee is as the WaPo called it, an abuse of power.

tjohn said:

I'm glad a Republican, in effect, made the call to not prosecute instead of A.G. Lynch.

Well, let's see if anybody makes this point in the hearings today.

Who's the guy sitting on Comey's left? I recognize him for some reason.

ridski said:

Who's the guy sitting on Comey's left? I recognize him for some reason.

Mark Halperin (I think, and don't know why he's sitting there.)  Or a doppelganger. .

that would take a Democrat with a spine. Not sure if any exist in captivity.

tjohn said:

ml1 said:

if that's all he did, without all the editorializing, I'd agree. But anyone, even us regular joes, would find ourselves thinking it was outrageous if law enforcement investigated us, cleared us of a crime, but then decided to make a statement that made it sound like we actually had committed a crime.  to do so with regard to a presidential nominee is as the WaPo called it, an abuse of power.

tjohn said:

I'm glad a Republican, in effect, made the call to not prosecute instead of A.G. Lynch.

Well, let's see if anybody makes this point in the hearings today.

cramer said:

ridski said:

Who's the guy sitting on Comey's left? I recognize him for some reason.

Mark Halperin (I think, and don't know why he's sitting there.)  Or a doppelganger. .

Boom! Thank you. Yes it is.

he's sitting there because he gets paid to pay attention to that sort of nonsense. And then write his own nonsense about it.

cramer said:

ridski said:

Who's the guy sitting on Comey's left? I recognize him for some reason.

Mark Halperin (I think, and don't know why he's sitting there.)  Or a doppelganger. .

Wait, you can get paid to do what we do on MOL for free?

ml1 said:

he's sitting there because he gets paid to pay attention to that sort of nonsense. And then write his own nonsense about it.

So pleased two items were mentioned - Petraeus and the Ashcroft hospital thing.

Having watched about 2 hours of this hearing, I'm with tjohn. Comey 2016.

ridski said:

Having watched about 2 hours of this hearing, I'm with tjohn. Comey 2016.

I can't watch it continually, but from what I've seen I agree he has done very well.

13 most revealing moments from Comey's testimony on Clinton emails

Comey defends the FBI's decision to not recommend charges while saying some of Clinton's public statements were untrue.

www.politico.com/story/2016/07/james-comey-testimony-clinton-email-225224

Funniest is #12:

12. Comey is no longer a registered Republican
Comey, who served in George W. Bush’s administration before being appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama, revealed that he is no longer registered with the Republican Party.

GL2 said:

Funniest is #12:

12. Comey is no longer a registered Republican
Comey, who served in George W. Bush’s administration before being appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama, revealed that he is no longer registered with the Republican Party.

 

That was quite telling, I thought. He had no reason to mention that other than to distance himself from the current presidential nominee and perhaps some others sitting in that room.

I agree. One of the few instances of offering info he wasn't asked about.  

Best result for Hillary:

Decision not to indict was unanimous among investigation team.

Worst result for Hillary:

FBI did not investigate Hillary's statements under oath to Congress, but would accept a "referral" from Congress to do so.  Chmn Chaifetz said, "You will be getting one soon."

Biggest issue to be resolved:

Did Hillary's lawyers who vetted her emails (and deleted 30,000 so they could not be retrieved) have security clearances?  Comey thought they did not, but Cummings read a note which suggested that they did.

GL2 said:

I agree. One of the few instances of offering info he wasn't asked about.  

reminds me of those people who are no longer in cults.  no obligation to the sect.

By the end of the day there will be news that the Judiciary Committee has asked the FBI to investigate whether Clinton lied under oath when she told the House Benghazi Committee that she had turned over all work-related emails.

paulsurovell said:

Best result for Hillary:

Decision not to indict was unanimous among investigation team.

Worst result for Hillary:

FBI did not investigate Hillary's statements under oath to Congress, but would accept a "referral" from Congress to do so.  Chmn Chaifetz said, "You will be getting one soon."

Biggest issue to be resolved:

Did Hillary's lawyers who vetted her emails (and deleted 30,000 so they could not be retrieved) have security clearances?  Comey thought they did not, but Cummings read a note which suggested that they did.

Best I could find, clearance was not adequate for the level of e-mails being handled.

I agree with evaluation of Comey, but he looked weak with final questioning of Chaffetz. It did come at the end of a long hearing and he  had to go pee.

BCC said:

I agree with evaluation of Comey, but he looked weak with final questioning of Chaffetz. It did come at the end of a long hearing and he  had to go pee.

Been there.

paulsurovell said:



Biggest issue to be resolved:

Did Hillary's lawyers who vetted her emails (and deleted 30,000 so they could not be retrieved) have security clearances?  Comey thought they did not, but Cummings read a note which suggested that they did.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/hillary-clinton-lawyer-top-secret-clearance-121736

I really admire James Comey. Also think he's one of the tallest people in government - 6' 8"!!!!!

"Comey also said Clinton knew that her email server at her home in Chappaqua, New York, was not authorized to receive classified information.
But Clinton may not have had sufficiently sophisticated understanding to know the emails that passed through her personal server were classified, Comey said. Only three of the 30,000 FBI-reviewed emails were explicitly marked as classified and those were marked with a "C" in the body of the email, not in the header, he said.
Comey said his FBI team had conducted its investigation of Clinton "in an apolitical and professional way" and he had no reason to believe she had lied to the FBI. Clinton had said publicly she never sent or received any classified information.
Comey had disappointed some Republicans by only rebuking Clinton, not recommending charges against her, in a Tuesday announcement for what he called "extremely careless" handling of classified information while using private email servers."

All of this money and only 3 emails, that were not properly marked; leading Comey to state that he had no reason that Clinton lied! And they are having more investigations?

paulsurovell said:


Worst result for Hillary:

FBI did not investigate Hillary's statements under oath to Congress, but would accept a "referral" from Congress to do so.  Chmn Chaifetz said, "You will be getting one soon."

This.

In many such investigations, the person being investigated is formally interviewed early in the process.  Not so with Hillary, who was only interviewed in the last few weeks as the investigation was wrapping up.  In many such investigations, what the person gets hung up on is false statements made early in the process.  HRC made plenty of false statements very publicly, but just not formally to the FBI (probably).  Can her statements to the FBI be compared to her previous public statements, which were clearly bald-faced lies?  Hopefully the 'referral' will be expeditious.

I do not admire Mr. Comey for this.  He bent himself into a pretzel ('extremely careless' vs. 'grossly negligent';  saying others would be punished for similar offenses, just not Hillary, on and on...) to get the political result he desired, and one which will help him keep his job after HRC is president.  Of all people, the FBI Director should respect and uphold the rule of law, yet he has chosen to diminish it for reasons of pure politics.