James Comey’s Testimony
American flag (credit: Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker)
Dear Friends & Neighbors,
(Please click on red links & note magenta)
I was traveling on this much awaited day, Thursday, June 8, 2017. Regardless whether I was in Admiral’s Club in the airport, inside the hotel lobby, or at a grocery store, concerned Americans every where are discussing about Comey’s testimony and what it means to our country and to us. For those of you who have missed this momentous event, please feel free to view the full testimony below:
If you do not have over two hours to watch the complete testimony in the first video below, please feel free to view the second and third videos for excerpt.
Here are some takeaways from this testimony, below:
- Comey has no doubt that Russia and Russian government interfered with U.S. 2016 elections, behind intrusion of DNC (Democratic National Committee) and DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) system, subsequent leak of the information, and cyber intrusion in the state voters files .
- Comey has no doubt that not a single vote of presidential election 2016 was altered.
- Comey is certain that Trump inappropriately interfered with the investigation, but Trump did not specifically ask Comey or FBI to drop the broader investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election entirely. However, Trump did ask Comey for: 1. loyalty 2. to lift the cloud of perception that the president was under investigation 3. to drop the FBI’s investigation into Trump’s firing of national security adviser Michael Flynn. Trump said to Comey,”I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”
- Comey believes that Trump fired him because of the way he was conducting the Russia investigation, leading to pressure on Trump. Trump was trying to change or stop FBI investigation into the Russia interference with 2016 election.
- Comey believes that President Trump is a liar. When asked why he started recording memos of his meeting with the president, Comey said, “I was honestly concerned he night lie about the nature of our meeting. I knew that there might come a day when I might need a record of what happened, not just to defend myself and FBI and the integrity of our situation, and the independence of our function.” Comey also said the president lied about why Trump fired him: “The administration then chose to defame me…and, more importantly, the FBI, by saying the organization was in disarray and that it was poorly led, that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader. Those were lies, plain and simple.“
- Comey is speaking up partly due to the way Trump handled Comey’s firing: Comey found out he was fired by watching TV. President Trump changed his narrative several times regarding the reason for firing Comey, eventually settling on “that Russia thing.” Furthermore, Comey read reports that Trump told Russian officials that Comey was a “nut job.” Comey said he and senior leaders in the FBI had decided to “keep … in a box” everything they had learned about the president’s inappropriate questions about the investigation. But after Trump’s tweet (James Comey better hope that there are no “tapes” of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!), Comey said he couldn’t stay silent.“I woke up in the middle of the night Monday [thinking] that there might be corroboration for our conversation,” Comey testified. “And my judgment was that I needed to get that out in the public square. So I asked a friend of mine to share the content of (my memos) with a reporter.”
- The firing of Comey is the smoke that set off the alarm to investigation for obstruction of justice. “I believe the timing of your firing stinks,” said Oregon Senator Ron Wyden (D). Virginia Senator Mark R. Warner, the top Democrat on the committee, said Comey’s oversight of the Russia investigation “might explain why you’re sitting down as a private citizen.” Comey agreed that he thinks his firing was tied to the president’s frustrations with the Russia investigation. “Something about the way I was conducting, it created pressure, and he wanted me to leave,” Comey said.
- Republicans are more interested in blaming Comey rather than in defending the president. The closest they got was one GOP senator trying to argue that: “Okay, what Trump did was wrong, but is it really obstruction of justice? “He said, ” ‘I hope’ (when he asked you to drop the Flynn investigation),” said Idaho Senator James E. Risch (R), a Trump ally. “You don’t know of anyone that’s ever been charged for hoping something?” Comey said he didn’t, but that he also took the president’s comments as a directive.“The president never should have cleared the room,” said Maine Senator Susan Collins (R) of a key Oval Office private meeting between Comey and Trump. “And he never should have asked you to let the investigation into Flynn go.”“You could have said: ‘Mr. President, this meeting is inappropriate. This response could compromise the investigation.'”Comey testified that he was “stunned” and, in retrospect, he probably should have been more firm with the president. But he just wanted to end the “awkward” conversations. Comey said he doesn’t regret keeping the president’s conversations within a tight circle: “No action was the most important thing I could do to make sure there was no interference in the investigation.”
- According to Comey’s testimony, neither the Democrat or Republican party is above meddling.
Finally, the most important takeaway is that: Our institution of separation of power and checks and balances are truly being put to the test. It is only in America, even in time of crisis, our jester Colbert would still have the freedom and ability to find ways to make us laugh…below:
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