General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsSomeone within the FBI has something on Comey. The FBI is out of control.
Who is really in charge?
Coyotl
(15,262 posts)CurtEastPoint
(18,668 posts)getagrip_already
(14,864 posts)basicically speculating without any tangible proof or links.
CurtEastPoint
(18,668 posts)Cicada
(4,533 posts)Ocean's razor suggests a simpler explanation, such as he just made a really stupid mistake. Obama doubts Comey is trying to interfere with the election. I doubt it too. I prefer the view the guy made a blunder (showing such bad judgment that he should be fired).
onecaliberal
(32,916 posts)Cicada
(4,533 posts)The freedom of information requests are governed by special laws. Delaying release would probably be illegal.
Squinch
(51,025 posts)started with Weiner's laptop, the FBI has also released the paperwork from a 2001 investigation into Rich, and a 2005 investigation into the Clinton Foundation. All of which found no wrongdoing, but which give fodder for the ratfuckers who are trying to tip this election. And all of it just happened to drop within a few days of the election. That's not coincidence or honest mistakes.
So no. That's not likely Donald campaigning. It's likely a reasonable Hillary supporter who is paying attention to what is happening.
Cicada
(4,533 posts)Mark Rich was pardoned in 2001 and an investigation of that, which also involved a contribution to the Clinton Foundation was completed in 2005. I read that the release was pursuant to a freedom of information request. I believe that the FOIA requires the government to release such information once certain things are completed and that delay at that point would be illegal.
I think Comey should be fired because his release of the email information showed extremely poor judgment. I simply argue that I doubt he is motivated by base political considerations. I independently reached that conclusion and then I read that President Obama agrees that Comey is not acting to influence the election.
Sometimes people fuck up big time for reasons that are not partisan. I think this is an example.
Squinch
(51,025 posts)and he dropped his tweet on what a great guy KKK member Fred Trump was?
None of these was necessary this week, and none of them was appropriate, all of them were to put himself into the limelight and to put his finger on the scale for Trump.
And I have a bridge to sell you.
Cicada
(4,533 posts)It may be that the Rich materials could not legally be delayed. Your belief to the contrary may be true or it may be false. The whole point of the FOIA law is to force govt to release information they want to keep secret. So it seems extremely likely that the FBI may not have been legally permitted to delay this particular release. The FOIA is a law which FORCES release of information.
Squinch
(51,025 posts)There are about a dozen ways they could have avoided an information dump the week before the election, while still honoring the time constraints of the law.
Cicada
(4,533 posts)And learned that the releases are timed on a first in, first out basis, where documents are automatically published by computer upon release. I doubt the release of Marc Rich stuff, all already public knowledge, was designed to influence the election. And the exceptions to release which I read did not seem to apply here.
Sometimes things happen without a conspiracy driving them.
Squinch
(51,025 posts)Some things do happen without a conspiracy driving them. These 4 dumps of crap coming a week before the election under the aegis of one man is not one of those non-conspiracy things.
haele
(12,682 posts)Okay, Comey did supposedly look like he was honorable when he didn't let Scooter Libby's goons push Ashcroft into signing off on waterboarding while he was in the hospital, but that was primarily because anything Ashcroft did when he was in that situation could be argued against in court.
Comey doesn't like liberals, but he truly hates the Clintons. He worked diligently on Ken Starr's committee to screw over the Clintons in the 90's.
Comey also is patriotic insofar as his actions benefit his moral compass, which moves in the same anti-liberal/anti-socialist/pro-corporation/classist direction as J. Edgar.
His actions only surprise me in that he is not walking that tightrope between the veneer of his dedication to his job and his political predilections as well as he could. He's not a completely stupid man - he couldn't have gotten where he was if he was a legacy brat or intellectually lazy - but the House and the Media is full of stupid people (not to mention how utterly corruptly ignorant Trump is), and it's very hard to align conservative strategies with effective tactics in such an environment.
See, Conservatives in general underestimate the capability of the average citizen to maintain outrage without finally saying "wait, now...this is beginning to sound like a bunch of crazy church ladies claiming the new single teacher at the daycare is bringing in full sized elephants to sacrifice and bind the souls of their babies to Satan - because she's pretty, the kids keep talking about her, and several husbands are starting to look at her "like that"."
Tea-partiers and Trump are working against him and messed up his timing. And of course, Comey is not as media-savvy as he thinks he is, and has very little control over what gets leaked to the FBI's pet reporters, and what just ends up flopping around on Twitter because someone (Jason....) can't keep his mouth shut in anticipation of the latest "surprise" that could hurt the Clintons.
Haele