2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumWho else thinks that Comey is a politically minded jerk putting his finger down to help Trump?
This summer, Comey declared non-prosecution of Hillary and then besmirched her deeply after that. Prosectors simply do not do that, but this evil Republican-leaning (in my opinion) shill did this. And so close to the election.
Comey knew exactly what he was doing this past summer and knows now that he can influence the election -- at least this is my strong, strong belief and the history of Comey's actions support my belief.
Any thoughts?
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Peigan68
(137 posts)Panich52
(5,829 posts)FBI protocol to not interfere w/ election — 60 days prior is usual cutoff. 11 days!?
Akamai
(1,779 posts)Also, maybe people search for relevance in interesting times.
But what he did violates the general guidelines given to prosecutors -- if you can't bring about an indictment, convict, etc., then dismiss the case and limit your descriptions of the case. He sure as hell didn't.
meow2u3
(24,766 posts)
napi21
(45,806 posts)The fact that it could hurt his opponent and help his candidate was a secondary consideration at best.
kurt_cagle
(534 posts)I think Comey probably had little choice (and yes, he was covering his ass), but there was nothing of real substance beyond the notification that email to Clinton had been found under a separate investigation. My suspicion is that the new emails likely are already part of the existing collection, but he had to report them nonetheless.
However, timing was horrible, and he exacerbated it by not notifying either Clinton or the Democrats. As of now, it looks like it's a non-event, though no doubt the GOP will try to fan the ember as much as possible. When you don't have to worry about being truthful, there's no reason not to create scandals whenever possible. Hopefully enough people will get angry about this, but I'm not holding my breath.
LAS14
(13,783 posts)
FrenchieCat
(68,867 posts)Gabi Hayes
(28,795 posts)Todd S. Purdum has recently offered a classic in the genre: a compulsively disingenuous Politico piece entitled "Why Can't Hillary Stop Fudging the Truth?" It begins by describing a "brief, but revelatory" exchange between Clinton and Charlie Rose.
Asked about her damn emails, and FBI Director James Comey's press conference about them, Hillary tried to broaden Rose's focus.
"Well, I would hope that you, like many others, would also look at what (Comey) said when he testified before Congress," she said, "because when he did, he clarified much of what he had said in his press conference."
If you're like most Americans, you don't know that when Comey testified, he was forced to walk back his assertion that the FBI found three (out of 30,000) documents marked "classified" among her emails.
Were they properly marked? Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) asked.
"No," Comey answered.
So wouldn't the absence of such markings "tell her immediately that those three documents were not classified?"
"That would be a reasonable inference," Comey said.
In other words, contrary to the FBI director's grandstanding press conference and a million Republicans chanting "Hillary lied," there were zero documents marked classified on her server. Not one.
So was Comey dissembling during his press conference? Or had he made an honest error? Pundits like Purdum know better than to ask. He never acknowledged Comey's walk back. No, the real issue was Hillary's "sloppiness," and her forgetting Comey used that exact word.
I started a thread on how CNN really pushed the false narrative Lyons discusses at the end of his piece, above, and how it could very likely redound to the severe disadvantage of her campaign. Once again, the media Fools for Scandal have shown that I was pretty much right.
It seems as if the truth of the situation is already working its way to the forefront, but has the same sort of momentum that saw her large lead evaporate over a 10 day period following the almost exclusive concentration of the media on the faux email scandal developed again, in an even stronger version?
Let's hope not. We'll see how dishonest they really are. Just recall the media firestorm that burned very hot, but, actually, very briefly during the Swiftboat fiasco. It was just enough to cost Kerry the election.
Most here think it's not to worry, because it's too late, but I think it's too early to tell.
Akamai
(1,779 posts)topics have been bruited about and we listen to the echoes we experience.
We hear of planes crashing and we are temporarily afraid of crashes. People hear of this and concern themselves with the emails.
Where there is smoke, there is smoke!
SharonClark
(10,014 posts)Gabi Hayes
(28,795 posts)The Hunting of the President, that with Joe Conason
the media default position with the Clintons has been, since the early 90s, at least, accuse first, find the facts to fit the 'scandal' afterward
LAS14
(13,783 posts)This is just like his injecting his personal opinion about Clinton's behavior when holding a news conference announcing no charges. As I understand it both that, and this announcement about the fact that they know nothing are totally inappropriate. Perhaps unheard of among D.As, etc.
True?
Akamai
(1,779 posts)You are KEERECT!!!
CajunBlazer
(5,648 posts)
renegade000
(2,301 posts)Trying to depress turnout to help the GOP in congressional races is pretty plausible...
Demsrule86
(68,620 posts)viciously attacked Sec. Clinton.
Blue Idaho
(5,051 posts)Or he's a political hack doing his best to make Trump the next President of the United States.
SMC22307
(8,090 posts)That much is certain.
triron
(22,008 posts)Gabi Hayes
(28,795 posts)really really dumb move
SMC22307
(8,090 posts)Obama appointed Comey as FBI director. Wonder why...
workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)the alt-right fever swamp for Trump!
He is a damn republican and this is his second shot at derailing Hillary's campaign!
Awsi Dooger
(14,565 posts)I was thinking about it on the golf course this afternoon. So many negative unfortunate offshoots to this story. If Hillary wins, you know damn well many Republicans will blame it on early voting, that this Comey move wasn't known until after 20 million people had voted.
The state legislatures run by Republicans will use it as reasoning to further limit early voting if not eliminate entirely.
In reading the memo he sounds like he is clueless toward situational impact. I'm not sure he schemed as opposed to stupidity.
Demsrule86
(68,620 posts)Demsrule86
(68,620 posts)think she will, it will affect her first year are president...I am beyond angry....the GOP is the worst. I despise them all.
arthritisR_US
(7,290 posts)Looking into it I think they may be on point...
Gabi Hayes
(28,795 posts)highly partisan act!
GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)Totally shredded it.
Until today I totally laughed at those suggesting that there was any threat to our republic. Now, I am not too sure.
The idea that White Males(of which I am one) using any means necessary to maintain control is becoming real to me.
And my Father was a Federal employee. He insisted that we be totally non partisan.
CajunBlazer
(5,648 posts)Squarely on FBI Director Comey - he is the one who instead of simply saying that He could not charge Hillary, he gave his personal opinion that she had been "extremely careless" with classified data. That was unnecessary, unprofessional and partisan in my humble opinion.
Then it was Comey again who started a fire storm with his overly simplistic letter to Congress which broke all FBI presidents. If you need any proof, notice that he found it necessary to put another more detailed letter trying to explaining himself.
You cannot blame Trump and his surrogates for trying to blow this to kingdom come. If Hillary and her campaign were given this kind of opportunity on a silver platter they would be trying to take advantage of it also (though one would hope they wouldn't lie to do so).
What we cannot do as honest Democrats is praise the media when their investigative reporting casts Trump in a bad light and then turn around act like they are the enemy when they simply report the facts that are laid before them in a straight forward manner.
That is what CNN has been doing all day while constantly digging deeper into the story to emerge with more facts. If you have been watching a network whose viewers expect it to grind up the news and feed it to them through an ideological strainer (i.e MSNBC or FOX News) and you don't like what you have been seeing and hearing, that's your problem. You made the decision to get your information from a prejudiced source and you knew that before you made that decision.
oasis
(49,395 posts)Chaffetz suddenly jumped back aboard the Trump endorsement bandwagon 1 day prior to the release.
Cosmocat
(14,566 posts)He is doing to Hillary now that he did to her and Bill 20 years ago.
Only a republican worm his way into something like that with that background.
IF a this was completely reversed R & D the republicans AND THE MEDIA would be screaming to have him not only fired, but hung for treason.
Demsrule86
(68,620 posts)TrishaJ
(798 posts)by Republicans and their leader, Trump, to bring this up; AND the fact that he caved to the pressure is enough alone to disqualify him from his job.
