Althouse: "I got a lot of respect for Jim Comey, but I don't understand this idea of dropping this bombshell which could be a big dud."

October 29, 2016

"I got a lot of respect for Jim Comey, but I don't understand this idea of dropping this bombshell which could be a big dud."

"Doing it in the last week or 10 days of a presidential election without more information, I don't think that he should because how does it inform a voter? It just invites speculation ... I would question the timing of it. It's not going to get done in a week."

Said former federal prosector Peter Zeidenberg, one of the prosecutors quoted in Politico's "Comey's disclosure shocks former prosecutors/FBI director's announcement of new evidence in the Clinton probe compounds criticism of his earlier willingness to discuss the case."

176 comments:

Fen said...: "Said former federal prosector Peter Zeidenberg, one of the corrupt shills quoted in Politico's "

/fixed; 10/29/16, 11:22 AM
rhhardin said...: There's Rush's cynic's theory, that it's all to get wikileaks off the front page for a while, and will turn out to be nothing after a week.; 10/29/16, 11:25 AM
n.n said...: Allegations and insinuations in the 11th hour? No, a sincere effort to construct a congruence.; 10/29/16, 11:28 AM
mockturtle said...: I'm inclined to think Levi Starks' [see previous thread on emails] 'alternative narrative' might have legs.; 10/29/16, 11:28 AM
David Aitken said...: If Comey put this out AFTER the election, his reputation, and the FBI's, would be toast; nothing but political hacks.; 10/29/16, 11:29 AM
robother said...: Cap Weinberger and Ted Stevens were unavailable for comment.; 10/29/16, 11:30 AM
bagoh20 said...: This mess was created by first Clinton herself, and then the FBI refusing to do its job months ago, so now they have no choice but to say what they know regardless of politics like they were supposed to the first time. Does anybody in Washington just do their job? Anyone?; 10/29/16, 11:35 AM
Etienne said...: Towards the end of an administration, people in management start bailing because they know they are going to be unemployed, so go get a real job until the next administration starts hiring.

I think there is a threshold, where the FBI director no longer has competent advisers. All that are left are yes-men and strap-hangers.

Thus Comey is making what appear to be very poor decisions.

He knows his job is finished. Clinton or Trump is not going to extend his enlistment.; 10/29/16, 11:36 AM
Diogenes of Sinope said...: Most likely this was not a difficult decision for Comey. I think the evidence they found was a slam-dunk for a Hillary Clinton felony indictment and conviction.; 10/29/16, 11:36 AM
PB said...: Anything that upsets the Democrat's game of, "Heads we win, tails you lose" is cognitive dissonance to them.

Slow walk and obstruct when they have to respond, but insist that others respond immediately to them.

Again, they prove they don't carry the irony gene.; 10/29/16, 11:37 AM
SukieTawdry said...: According to The New Yorker:

Four years ago, then Attorney General Eric Holder formalized this practice in a memo to all Justice Department employees. The memo warned that, when handling political cases, officials “must be particularly sensitive to safeguarding the Department’s reputation for fairness, neutrality, and nonpartisanship.” To guard against unfair conduct, Holder wrote, employees facing questions about “the timing of charges or overt investigative steps near the time of a primary or general election” should consult with the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division.

The Public Integrity Section had "no comment" about whether Comey consulted with them.

Obama, of course, can fire Comey for violating the Holder rule. Would he? Will he? Is there a Saturday Night mini-Massacre in the making??; 10/29/16, 11:40 AM
PB said...: I don't recall the Democrats objecting to when Comey made his July announcement, but now, they're going bat-shit crazy.; 10/29/16, 11:40 AM
n.n said...: Clinton is probably thinking... hoping: What difference, at this point, does it make?; 10/29/16, 11:41 AM
Fen said...: It's all my fault. I sent Comey a nice letter, explaining that the Marines gave me a Masters in MOUT (Military Operations in Urban Terrain), and that if an institution like the FBI turned out to be so corrupt that they would cover for Hillary, then what's the point of me playing by society's rules anymore?

Hang on, some jerk is pounding on my front door, brb....; 10/29/16, 11:41 AM
320Busdriver said...: So Lynch weighed in before Comey's letter went out and basically said not to do this.

I thought she had earlier said DOJ was not going to get involved in the process at the FBI.hmmm; 10/29/16, 11:41 AM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: Tough fucking luck, Dumb-o-cracks! Justice doesn't get put on hold for the sake of an election. WTF is wrong with these people! Can any one of us just decide to run for office as an excuse to evade investigation and prosecution for our actions? These shits don't belong in this country and should all move to a third-world kleptocracy. I'm sick of them.; 10/29/16, 11:42 AM
tcrosse said...: This is an inopportune time to bring up anything which could reflect badly on HRC. OTOH, any time is the right time to bring up Trump's sexual misconduct. Vote early, vote often.; 10/29/16, 11:47 AM
bagoh20 said...: You have two choices: tell the public what you know, and let them decide with extra information or not tell them and let them make the decision without it. The purpose of the FBI is transparency and making people face the consequences of their actions. They are specifically not to be instead protecting political careers. In an open democracy there is only one option: transparency. Anything else would be corruption, and tampering with the election. Exposing facts is not tampering, but hiding them is.; 10/29/16, 11:48 AM
Paul said...: If it's a 'dud', then it will be a 'dud'. But we think it won't be so.

HRC's Wiener is now exposed.; 10/29/16, 11:52 AM
Michael K said...: Lawrence Walsh could not be reached for comment about filing charges five days before the election in 1992.

He has been busy trying to get the heat turned down since March 2014.; 10/29/16, 11:54 AM
Michael The Magnificent said...: I posted this in another Althouse thread:

I bet the FBI, while investigating Anthony Weiner, stumbled across Huma Abedin's stash of blue Gap dresses, emails incriminating Hillary that she forwarded to her private email account as insurance should Hillary decide to toss her under the bus.; 10/29/16, 11:55 AM
Static Ping said...: I tend to agree that the timing is very strange and under normal circumstances would find this sort of activity very suspicious. However, from what we know right now from public information, Hillary Clinton is slam-dunk guilty. She was slam-dunk guilty when Comey declined to press for indictments months ago. It's not even debatable.

The FBI has more or less completely destroyed its credibility with both major parties, and yet the former prosecutor is concerned about speculation. Way to miss the elephant in the room when it is about to sit on you.; 10/29/16, 11:58 AM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: Get ahead of the MSM. Vote tampering already occurring in FL.

These are run state-by-state. Each state needs to have a voting watchdog group. They can coordinate, but the processes are set up and overseen individually.

Raise a big stink about this and stop getting distracted by the hypotheticals and things that aren't happening. Publicize the real-life cases - especially by ranking officials such as occurred here.; 10/29/16, 11:59 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Static Ping - you nailed it.; 10/29/16, 12:00 PM
320Busdriver said...: should Hillary decide to toss her under the bus.

Huma is not on the Hillary express today.

Weird; 10/29/16, 12:00 PM
Bob Boyd said...: The voters aren't a jury. We don't need a judge deciding what we should hear or not hear.

We're making a hiring decision, not rendering a verdict. We need to know as much as we can about the character and competence of the job candidates.; 10/29/16, 12:02 PM
SukieTawdry said...: I don't recall the Democrats objecting to when Comey made his July announcement, but now, they're going bat-shit crazy.

There were many Democrats who were unhappy with Comey's announcement. They thought he should have merely announced there was no evidence of wrongdoing and therefore no recommendation for prosecution and let it go at that. They thought he impugned Clinton's integrity and competence by talking about her "carelessness."; 10/29/16, 12:02 PM
FullMoon said...: From NYT

Read Comey’s letter to FBI employees below.

To all:

This morning I sent a letter to Congress in connection with the Secretary Clinton email investigation. Yesterday, the investigative team briefed me on their recommendation with respect to seeking access to emails that have recently been found in an unrelated case. Because those emails appear to be pertinent to our investigation, I agreed that we should take appropriate steps to obtain and review them.

Of course, we don’t ordinarily tell Congress about ongoing investigations, but here I feel an obligation to do so given that I testified repeatedly in recent months that our investigation was completed. I also think it would be misleading to the American people were we not to supplement the record. At the same time, however, given that we don’t know the significance of this newly discovered collection of emails, I don’t want to create a misleading impression. In trying to strike that balance, in a brief letter and in the middle of an election season, there is significant risk of being misunderstood, but I wanted you to hear directly from me about it.

Jim Comey; 10/29/16, 12:03 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: Don't give up hope! It IS possible to JAIL Democrat politicians!

Now if only we can threaten surrogates with this...; 10/29/16, 12:03 PM
Achilles said...: This whole story is surreal. Now we have this classified information popping up on a computer wiener used to surf porn on. So many service members are in jail for a few pictures on their computers.

This is a joke. All of these people would be in jail if they were not above the law. Anyone who had a clearance and hears what these people did is just credulous right now. If Hillary is elected it is the end of the rule of law.; 10/29/16, 12:04 PM
Tank said...: After YEARS of delaying and obstructing the various investigations in every way possible, Clinton and her supporters are complaining about "timing." That's pretty funny.

==================

Sometimes in a football game, an official makes a bad call hurting one team. Then later he gets a chance to "make up" for his earlier mistake. Weiner's boner could be that chance for Comey. As it would have been appropriate to make a recommendation for prosecution when Comey first spoke up, it would appropriate for him to do so immediately, right now, before election day.; 10/29/16, 12:04 PM
JPS said...: At this point I'm basically wondering whether Comey is a very stupid man.

Having taken the hit to his and the Bureau's reputation to not recommend indictment months ago - and doing it, I think, to avoid charges that they were politically motivated - he would be very stupid to open this up, now, if all he has could be dismissed as more of same. And Clinton minions are very skilled at comparing two wildly disparate actions and insisting, convincingly, that they're basically the same.

Even an agent revolt, where they tell him, Let us do our jobs or we resign en mass and hold a press conference: You think the Clinton campaign couldn't dismiss that? Insist they were partisans out to get Hillary because they hate her for her work on behalf of children, and that they're just trying to hurt her - like Kevin McCarthy admitted? If they did that with what we know of, they lose.

So I guess either Comey is very stupid or insane, or whatever's come up is different in kind, not just in degree.; 10/29/16, 12:06 PM
JackWayne said...: Andrew McCarthy is claiming there are new emails in the Huma stash. I haven't seen this claim anywhere else. Anybody see confirmation from other sources?; 10/29/16, 12:07 PM
gadfly said...: Nobody has been charged with anything at this time, but the news dump on the last Friday of the October Surprise month is amazing to say the least, especially since it is the Democrats letting loose the news.

Whatever news is keyed up for release early next week must be full of flame-suppressant material. The Sunday Shows will hear a mere smidgen of "real news" on the Sabbath. The only logical reason, for the announcement (Rush agrees with this theory), is to steal headlines from the trailing Trump campaign and to forestall another Wikileaks dump.

My guess is that these emails are not direct Hillary emails and that they are more of the ho-hum banter between the Hillary staff members. I say that because Hillary Clinton urged the FBI to release all of the information it has and stressed that Comey himself said that he “doesn’t know whether the emails referenced in his letter are significant or not. I’m confident, whatever they are, will not change the conclusion reached in July.”

So who thinks that Hillary doesn't know exactly where this is headed?; 10/29/16, 12:07 PM
bagoh20 said...: I am sure of one thing: this mess is in no way Trump's fault. He isn't the one that hid this stuff, and he even warned them over a year ago that this would happen. Today he's like a big cherub, angelic, with gleaming golden hair, looking down on the sinners, confident that his own mild sins by comparison leave him in good standing with the higher authority. He's not a criminal, he's just a little naughty, like the magazines on the young Althouse's coffee table.; 10/29/16, 12:09 PM
Diogenes of Sinope said...: Hillary Clinton "urging" the FBI to release everything is a action intended to deceive the public, a ruse. Clinton knows the FBI won't release the evidence from an ongoing criminal investigation. So Clinton can look good falsely calling for transparency which is actually never going to happen. Republicans are also playing a similar game.; 10/29/16, 12:11 PM
Hagar said...: Self preservation. The FBI would do almost anything to avoid a Congressional inquiry into the alleged McCabe bribery affair. And it is not Comey's sole decision. The FBI directorship is not a one man job any more.; 10/29/16, 12:11 PM
bagoh20 said...: It's hilarious that Clinton wants the FBI to immediately release the information, knowing full well that they can't do that, and that she can.; 10/29/16, 12:14 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: I know one thing.

It IS possible to go to jail for lawbreaking in this country.

EVEN if you're a Democrat!

EVEN if you're a WOMAN

There is such a thing as justice:

Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy said Kane assumed an “off with your heads” mentality as she ran the state’s top law enforcement agency. The judge called Kane a political “neophyte” who failed to make the transition from campaigner to public servant after she took office.

“This case is about ego - the ego of a politician consumed with her image from Day One,” Demchick-Alloy said. “This case is about retaliation and revenge against perceived enemies who this defendant ... felt had embarrassed her in the press.”

Glory, glory Hallelujah. You listening, Hillary?

I know your NSA is.; 10/29/16, 12:14 PM
Diogenes of Sinope said...: Really, really Comey said what......do you have a link to your claim?

Comey himself said that he “I’m confident, whatever they are, will not change the conclusion reached in July.”; 10/29/16, 12:14 PM
hombre said...: Damage control by the Clinton mediaswine. Did these prosecutors express shock or surprise when Comey took the truly unprecedented step of declaring Hillary would not be prosecuted or when he gratuitously granting immunity to her lap dogs? They did not.

Also, there is no effective DOJ policy against announcing investigations. Eric Holder announced the commencement of every investigation he thought would benefit Obamacare politically. Comey did not comment beyond the rudimentary announcement. Yesterday the Democrats were bitching about that.; 10/29/16, 12:20 PM
buwaya said...: It goes without saying that any of Clintons doings, and of her staff, and of the FBI (McCabe and who knows who else) in a private F1000 firm would lead to instant dismissal as a violation of SOX and other corporate governance laws, and very likely criminal prosecution as well.

I have seen VPs of a major corporation escorted off the premises for violations of email and communications propriety, as directed by the CEO. Conflicts of interest would be dealt with by the board of directors, and I have seen that too.; 10/29/16, 12:20 PM
Jaq said...: Prosecutors brought an additional indictment four days before the 1992 presidential election. This was controversial because it cited a Weinberger diary entry contradicting a claim made by President George H.W. Bush. Republicans claimed that it contributed to President Bush’s defeat. On December 11, 1992, Judge Thomas F. Hogan threw out the indictment because it violated the five-year statute of limitations and improperly broadened the original charges.

Yes. It's unprecedented, if you are talking about targeting Democrats.; 10/29/16, 12:28 PM
Jaq said...: I say that because Hillary Clinton urged the FBI to release all of the information it has

Yeah, sure. I believe her. You can never go wrong believing a Clinton.; 10/29/16, 12:31 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Abedin herself can release this material, and can discuss publicly what is in the material. If she hasn't given a press conference by early next week, there is only one logical inference one can make about the material.; 10/29/16, 12:31 PM
Humperdink said...: This whole affair makes me chuckle. For every email, there is a sender and recipient. Sometimes many recipients. And then they are forwarded. And forwarded again.

If anyone thinks the Clinton emails reside primarily with Her Queeness is delusional.; 10/29/16, 12:34 PM
Sebastian said...: "It goes without saying that any of Clintons doings . . ." But then again, it really doesn't go without saying, since it isn't being said every single time any of the doings are "reported" and "we"Americans are about to elect the person whose felonious behavior goes-without-sayingly entitles her to a stay in the Big House.; 10/29/16, 12:34 PM
Jaq said...: They thought he should have merely announced there was no evidence of wrongdoing

I guess a lie like that was too big, even for Comey.; 10/29/16, 12:35 PM
Lewis Wetzel said...: Blogger Diogenes of Sinope said...
Really, really Comey said what......do you have a link to your claim?
Comey himself said that he “I’m confident, whatever they are, will not change the conclusion reached in July.”

Oh, fer Christ's sake>
Clinton said at a news conference. “The director himself has said he doesn’t know whether the emails referenced in his letter are significant or not. I’m confident whatever they are will not change the conclusion reached in July.”
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/10/28/fbi-clinton-emails/; 10/29/16, 12:35 PM
Jaq said...: Well Humperdink, they should have done what the IRS did and destroy all of the hard drives and backup tapes. That's what a competent fixer would have advised.; 10/29/16, 12:36 PM
cacimbo said...: Current NPR headline: FBI Head Under Fire For Restarting Clinton Email Investigation Days Before Election

Today's coverage is devoted to explaining that Comey is terrible and there is no evidence at all that Hillary did anything bad.; 10/29/16, 12:41 PM
MH said...: Comey reopening the investigation forces Clinton to purge more compromised staff and further reduce the Clinton Foundation before taking office. The Director is finally putting country before career.

He is to late and will eventually fall along with Abedin, Brazile, Wasserman and Panetta.; 10/29/16, 12:46 PM
Jaq said...: "We are rocketing backwards here to the Victorian period with this belief that women are not capable of making decisions on their own,” she says. “This is not feminism — which is to achieve independent thought and action. There will never be equality of the sexes if we think that women are so handicapped they can’t look after themselves.” - Camille Paglia

It never should have occurred in the first place. Someone somewhere should have told her no. - "Clinton Surrogate" as reported in The Hill.

She was Secretary of Fucking State! One of the most powerful people in the world! She was entrusted to that position by the President of the United States, and ratified by the Senate! And she can't be expected to have good judgement? Because she's a girl, I guess.; 10/29/16, 12:47 PM
Lewis Wetzel said...: Here is what Comey really said:
“Because those emails appear to be pertinent to our investigation, I agreed that we should take appropriate steps to obtain and review them.“
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/10/28/fbi-clinton-emails/

Here is how Hillary paraphrased what Comey said:
“The director himself has said he doesn’t know whether the emails referenced in his letter are significant or not."

The Clintons lie. It is what they do, it is who they are.; 10/29/16, 12:49 PM
Matt Sablan said...: I said this on an older thread that is now dead, so I'll repost it here:

My real question though is: How did the FBI not seize Huma Abedin's devices when they were investigating her for hiding secret emails?

Why did it take them investigating her husband sexting teens for them to decide to seize her devices?

What logic caused one team to say: "We don't need to see Sec. Clinton's right hand's electronic devices," and another to say, "Maybe her husband sent an under aged teenager a sext from his wife's phone."; 10/29/16, 12:50 PM
Matt Sablan said...: "Most likely this was not a difficult decision for Comey."

-- His letter was amending his testimony, so I agree. If he didn't, Congress would have been pissed off to find out he had lied to them.; 10/29/16, 12:52 PM
cubanbob said...: In July Comey laid out the indictment of Clinton but stopped short of a referral by pussying out. He knew Obama wouldn't allow this to proceed to a grand jury but lacked the character to declare that the FBI believed a referral was in order. Now with more revelations and with the McCabe scandal he no longer has to prostitute himself to the Clinton's or Obama & Co. He is in full CYA mode now. What else is left to be revealed who knows but undue influence is starting to appear as one of the possible things.; 10/29/16, 12:52 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: The MSM are in full spin-for-corrupt-Hillary mode.

Not a surprise. The mask if off. The press is a joke.; 10/29/16, 12:53 PM
viator said...: Pollutico there's an unbiased source.

The unrelated case is an underage sex investigation with an empaneled grand jury in New York, more distant from the fixers in Washington.

"Ed Timperlake points that in an underage sex investigation, all electronic communications of the investigative target are pursued. This probably led to the grand jury that was announced 11 days ago issuing a subpoena for all of the devices in the possession of Weiner and his family, including Huma. As Lucianne Goldberg quipped, they even seize the Speak & Spell toys in these cases."

Something pretty damning must have been on the devices the FBI seized. Enough that Comey couldn't make the FBI eat this one.

Will Carlos Danger flip for a plea bargain?; 10/29/16, 12:54 PM
hombre said...: Blogger SukieTawdry said...
'According to The New Yorker: Four years ago, then Attorney General Eric Holder formalized this practice in a memo to all Justice Department employees. The memo warned that, when handling political cases, officials “must be particularly sensitive to safeguarding the Department’s reputation for fairness, neutrality, and nonpartisanship.” To guard against unfair conduct, Holder wrote, employees facing questions about “the timing of charges or overt investigative steps near the time of a primary or general election” should consult with the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division.'

This is just the New Yorker carrying Clinton's water. For example, every time a black man got shot by a white cop, Holder announced an investigation by DOJ as he did when George Zimmerman was acquitted. These were highly political cases where DOJ already had social assistance teams on the scene, where DOJ bias was apparent and where Obama stood to benefit politically.

And, BTW, since when does a criminal investigation defer to an election, particularly when the conduct of one of the candidate is at issue. Therein lies the rub. The corrupt Democrats actually believe that winning elections justifies anything, including criminal conduct and that any investigation thereof should be subverted by the greater goal.

Hillary's original "get out of jail free" card, therefore, should extend to the subsequent discovery of a cache of suspect emails, perhaps classified, on the devices of a sexual deviant subject to blackmail and his wife, whose parents have well document ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic extremist, designated terrorist organization.

These people are insanely corrupt!; 10/29/16, 12:56 PM
MayBee said...: "The Clintons lie. It is what they do, it is who they are. "

Yeah, I remember in July when she said Comey said she'd been honest about her emails.; 10/29/16, 12:56 PM
traditionalguy said...: The entire Clinton machine from Bubba to the lowest hitman is busy now memorizing the text of the Fifth Amendment refusal to testify. Mafia redux.; 10/29/16, 12:57 PM
dreams said...: "Doing it in the last week or 10 days of a presidential election without more information, I don't think that he should because how does it inform a voter? It just invites speculation ... I would question the timing of it. It's not going to get done in a week."

Its happened before, Caspar Weinberger and it helped get Clinton elected.; 10/29/16, 12:57 PM
Humperdink said...: From now until the election, all democrat and MSM firepower (but I repeat myself) will be directed at James Comey. Trump will an afterthought until Comey is destroyed.

That is, until the next Wikileaks dump or some other major event. With election not until Nov 8th, we have time for a November surprise.

Isn't it funny how Hillary wants Comey to release everything right now, but you couldn't pry subpoenaed information out Hillary with a crowbar.

The list is expanding as to who will go into hiding this week. (I was going say "subsurface", but that has a couple of different meanings when the Clintons are involved). Huma and the Weiner for sure. Hillary typically takes weekends off, but they may need to medicate her and send back into the game.; 10/29/16, 12:58 PM
MayBee said...: Four years ago, then Attorney General Eric Holder formalized this practice in a memo to all Justice Department employees. The memo warned that, when handling political cases, officials “must be particularly sensitive to safeguarding the Department’s reputation for fairness, neutrality, and nonpartisanship.” To guard against unfair conduct, Holder wrote, employees facing questions about “the timing of charges or overt investigative steps near the time of a primary or general election” should consult with the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division.'

Hahahhaha! So basically, 4 years ago Obama's AG "formalized" a way to protect Hillary Clinton from the FBI for the next election.; 10/29/16, 12:59 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: There's a good, feminist argument for opening up a certain male-dominated institution and breaking the ceiling to broaden participation across all genders to it, including Hillary Clinton:

Prison!

As experienced as Hillary is, it's doubtful that her resume couldn't stand to benefit by experiencing the male-dominated institution known as prison - especially since she locked up 2 million young black males in it for the so-called "crime" of putting something in their bodies that may or may not be dangerous only to themselves.

Hands off young black male bodies! And break that "iron ceiling" and avail yourself to the benefits of all that can be learned in that male-dominated institution known as prison!

Break the barrier! Hillary for prison! Stop shutting her out of this important male institution. She's good enough for it. And could learn to become a better criminal, too!; 10/29/16, 12:59 PM
Jaq said...: Funny how the guy who was exposed as asking Reddit how to disappear emails under subpoena, who was given immunity, and then set out on a spree of evidence destruction on Reddit, didn't cause the investigation to be re-opened.

But Hillary will be great!

Mrs. Clinton would even schmooze differently than the past few presidents have. Not one to do business over golf or basketball, she would bring back the intimate style of former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Lyndon B. Johnson, negotiating over adult beverages. Picture a steady stream of senators, congressmen and other leaders raising a glass and talking policy in the Oval Office with her and her likely chief of staff, John D. Podesta, - New York Times

“I think you[Podesta] should call her[HRC] and sober her up some.” - Wikileaks; 10/29/16, 1:01 PM
dreams said...: Comey had no choice, the FBI agents were going going to get the info out if Comey didn't, so he's just trying to save some of his sorry-ass reparation.; 10/29/16, 1:01 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: If you believe in excluding women from powerful male institutions, then you're obviously a sexist. Which is the best reason for providing Hillary the advantage in life of learning about all that life in prison has to offer and teach her.; 10/29/16, 1:02 PM
Jupiter said...: Diogenes of Sinope said...
"Most likely this was not a difficult decision for Comey. I think the evidence they found was a slam-dunk for a Hillary Clinton felony indictment and conviction."

The evidence they already had was a slam-dunk for a Hillary Clinton felony indictment and conviction. That was exactly what made it so difficult for Comey to decide not to recommend prosecution in the first case.

I;m starting to think that Comey is just a Drama Queen.; 10/29/16, 1:02 PM
hombre said...: Susie Tawdry wrote: "There were many Democrats who were unhappy with Comey's announcement. They thought he should have merely announced there was no evidence of wrongdoing ...."

Of course the Democrats thought he should have announced "there was no evidence of wrongdoing" even if it was an outright lie.

Immoral Democrats!; 10/29/16, 1:04 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: Hillary can be just as good and rehabilitated a criminal as any other, regardless of gender. She's proven she's good enough for it, now stop being sexists and let her join the best "boys' club" known to man: PRISON!; 10/29/16, 1:05 PM
Heatshield said...: If she's elected, we are in for four years of scandals and investigations. Her emails are just part of it. The Clinton Foundation is a cesspool of corruption that appalled even Chelsea. She is corrupt to the core and it will just keep coming out. But unlike Nixon, she doesn't have the decency to resign.; 10/29/16, 1:06 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: As a feminist, I fully believe that NO male institution should be off-limits to women. And that includes one of the most heavily male-dominated institutions of all: PRISON!

Send Hillary to prison. End the patriarchy. Our nation's inmates need a more gender-balanced representation.; 10/29/16, 1:07 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: Achieving Gender Balance and Equity in Male Institutions. A College Guide.

Chapter 1. PRISON.

Hillary, time to sign up and do your time. You already ducked and evaded sniper fire in Bosnia. (Or so you convinced yourself). Now go do your part and bring gender equity to our criminal justice system.

Our prisons need you, Hillary. They call out for the sort of female viewpoint and perspective that you, alone, are uniquely qualified to provide.

Do it for all the lessons you can teach America's young daughters.; 10/29/16, 1:09 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: And boys.; 10/29/16, 1:10 PM
Jaq said...: John [Podesta], heard this second hand but more than once. Seems Erdogan faction is making substantial investments in U.S. to counter opposition (CHP, Kurds, Gulenists etc.) outreach to policymakers and USG. Am told that the Erdogan crew also tries to make inroads via donations to Democratic candidates, including yours. Two names that you should be aware of are *Mehmet Celebi* and *Ali Cinar*. Happy to elaborate on the phone, provided you are not shopping at the liquor store.

Bolded that last just for laughs. I like the liquor store as much as anybody.

Anyway, there's guys in town with bags of money to buy influence against the Kurds, you remember them? We betrayed them? Yeah, those Kurds. Anyway, about this money...; 10/29/16, 1:13 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: The sisterhood CRIES OUT for justice, and the opportunity in America to have an equal shot at joining one of the most pervasively male institutions representing the American experience: PRISON.

Give Hillary her fair shot! It's the least she deserves! Prison is good enough for other males; now let her have her shot, too.

I mean, she already wants to replace one male. (A black male, at that). But there are other ways that she can offer her sorely needed service, as well.; 10/29/16, 1:15 PM
Jaq said...: Remember that Hillary's supporters in the press did their best to give us Trump. They withheld the worst shit until he safely had the nomination in hand, then right before the election? They dump it. Had they dumped that shit earlier, it wouldn't have helped Hillary. She is not only responsible for her rotten self, but her machine gave us Trump too, for her to beat up on. And he might just win, which would serve her an the press right. I don't give a shit anymore, but this is seriously funny stuff going on.; 10/29/16, 1:18 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: Hillary has been unfairly excluded from male institutions all her life. And keeping her out of prison is just the latest example of this.; 10/29/16, 1:18 PM
viator said...: "Right now (10/28) we're all talking in a vacuum but I want to add here that in the last, oh, 36, 48 hours, there has been an undercurrent of kind of speculative discussion among some national security people that something might surface in the next few days about e-mails, and I think the expectation in this chatter -- and I took it as just chatter but informed chatter, to some extent -- was that it would relate to another round of WikiLeaks e-mails, which our Justice Department people seem to be saying is not the case, but there has been some noise in the national security community the last day or two of this kind of possibility of some kind of revelation."
Carl Bernstein

So security people are talking in Washington. Imagine how PO'd the intelligence/security/military community is at Clinton, Inc. Retired Marine four-star Gen. James Cartwright just plead guilty to charges for doing far less than Hillary and her minions. Millions of Americans have had to follow the stringent disciplines of security clearances, but not the Democrat nominee for President of the US.; 10/29/16, 1:19 PM
Francisco D said...: Watch for any Huma Abedin sightings this week.

She seems likely to be indicted, at some point in time. My guess is that she is huddled up with the best lawyers money can buy. We won't see her until well after the election.

She will be pardoned if Hillary wins. Obama may pardon her if Trump wins.; 10/29/16, 1:20 PM
John henry said...: Where's Huma?

Drudge says she is in hiding, though the article he links to doesn't say it that explicitly.

Perhaps Huma has decided that it is time to go pay a visit to Mom.

In Saudi Arabia.

Which has no extradition treaty with the US.

Where Huma may (or may not) be a citizen.

If she turns up there, I think Crooked Hilary is toast.

John Henry; 10/29/16, 1:20 PM
Jaq said...: As long as almost everybody believes it is a binary choice, it is one. I say "when you are in a hole, stop digging" and it only has to be a small minority to reject the idea to make it become untrue.; 10/29/16, 1:20 PM
John henry said...: Just to be clear, Huma is a natural born (Michigan IIRC) citizen of the US.

It has long been unclear whether she has other citizenship as well.

John Henry; 10/29/16, 1:21 PM
Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...: "I got a lot of respect for Jim Comey, but I don't understand this idea of dropping this bombshell which could be a big dud,"

But understanding of rampant granting immunity and destruction of potential evidence?; 10/29/16, 1:24 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Matthew Sablan:

"My real question though is: How did the FBI not seize Huma Abedin's devices when they were investigating her for hiding secret emails?"

You are probably aware that no grand jury was impaneled for the e-mail investigation- that is why they weren't seized. There was no court orders available. The entire difference here is that the Weiner case has a grand jury and such power.

This also explains Comey's wording in the memo and the letter to Congress. They have read the material already and know what is new and what isn't, but the question is whether any of it can be used in any court proceeding or even an investigation since it is probably unrelated to the Weiner investigation. Remember, the e-mail investigation still didn't have a grand jury as of yesterday. I feel almost certain that is what Comey is referring to when he mentions "access" since this appears to come from Abedin's personal e-mail account. Maybe our resident law professor at a big state university will want to talk about this?; 10/29/16, 1:26 PM
John henry said...: Blogger gadfly said...

The Sunday Shows will hear a mere smidgen of "real news" on the Sabbath.

How does this sentence make sense? The "Sunday shows" now run on Saturday? (The Sabbath)Do they run on the Saturday before or the Saturday after the Sunday?

Saturday, the last day of the week (Biblically) is still the Sabbath. Sunday, the first day of the week is the "Lord's Day" (Biblically)

Happy Sabbath! Feliz Sabado! to all

John Henry

John Henry; 10/29/16, 1:28 PM
Sebastian said...: "My guess is that she is huddled up with the best lawyers money can buy." David Kendall is the key guy in the whole scandal. As we may infer from his apparent absence from any emails dished up so far.; 10/29/16, 1:29 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: Bill Maher said yesterday that he didn't care if they found Jon Benet Ramsey's body in Hillary's basement. The trained seals in his audience clapped.Unfortunately, as I walked down the street this morning I saw my neighbors have not taken down their Hillary yard signs, which reveals that they, like Maher, are not only stupid, but shamelessly amoral stooges.

R & B made me think of all those "bad girls in prison" movies from the 50's. However, the women in those movies were hotties, and Hillary certainly doesn't deserve to go to a women's prison filled with young lovelies. Put her in a place where all the inmates look like Janet Reno and all the guards look like Shirley Stoler, the Nazi commandant in "Seven Beauties."

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Seven+Beauties+Shirley+Stoler&FORM=IDMHDL; 10/29/16, 1:30 PM
Jaq said...: You don't do this," one former senior Justice Department official told the New Yorker. "It's aberrational. It violates decades of practice."

Yes, we never do this to (cough cough) Democrats! Only Republicans like Casper Weinberger, or Ted Stevens...

In 2008, Stevens was embroiled in a federal corruption trial as he ran for re-election to the Senate. He was found guilty, and eight days later was narrowly defeated at the polls.[4] Stevens is the most senior U.S. Senator to have ever lost a reelection bid. However, prior to sentencing, the indictment was dismissed—effectively vacating the conviction—when a Justice Department probe found evidence of gross prosecutorial misconduct.[5] Many have argued the prosecution was unfair and politically motivated. - Wikipedia

The prosecutorial misconduct that brought you Obamacare! That and a trunk full of ballots that had been "misplaced" and then, thankfully found, in Minnesota! But don't worry Democrats! They will never use these kinds of tactics against you in the service of the extremely wealthy! It will NEVER happen! Sleep well tonight!

Today, they came for the Republicans, but I was not a Republican, so a laughed so hard my drink came out of my nose!; 10/29/16, 1:31 PM
Jaq said...: BTW, in case you are worried that Justice wasn't done in the Stevens case, the prosecutors involved had a letter of reprimand placed in their file. A letter that ensures they will never have to buy another drink in Democrat circles.; 10/29/16, 1:42 PM
Ken B said...: Kurt Eichenwald is lying for Hillary on this. He said no emails were from Hillary. That is because they were forwarded by Huma Abedin. So the email header says from HA but the contents are an email from HRC. This is like saying we haven't seen sexts from Wiener, we have only seen webpages showing sexts from Wiener.; 10/29/16, 1:44 PM
StephenFearby said...: The Comey disclosure is a CYA maneuver...because the FBI previously failed to track down and obtain the stream of emails Huma Abadin sent to her Yahoo email account:

Weiner revelation proves Comey dropped the ball on Hillary probe

NY Post, Paul Sperry, October 28

'...On page 3 of their 11-page report, the agents detail how they showed Abedin a classified paper on Pakistan sent from a State Department source which she, in turn, inexplicably forwarded to her personal Yahoo email account — an obviously unclassified, unencrypted, unsecured and unauthorized system. The breach of security was not an isolated event but a common practice with Abedin.

“She routinely forwarded emails from her state.gov account to either her clintonemail.com or her yahoo.com account,” the agents wrote. Why? “So she could print them” at home and not at her State Department office.

Abedin contended that she “would typically print the documents without reading them [apparently to then bring them to Hilary]” and “was unaware of the classification.”'

'...The FBI also pointed out that “the only person at DoS (Department of State) to receive an email account on the (clintonemail.com) domain was Abedin.”'

Comey probably felt his disclosure to Congress forestalled a leak of the discovery of the emails, which would have probably created even a bigger firestorm.

His disclosure also deflected -- at least for now -- the appropriate focus on why the FBI failed to follow up on the Huma Yahoo.com email account at the time it was first discovered.

Your tax dollars at work. Not.; 10/29/16, 1:46 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: LOL- R&B

Prison! Male dominated institution must let her in! Enough is enough!; 10/29/16, 1:48 PM
Curious George said...: "Yancey Ward said...
Maybe our resident law professor at a big state university will want to talk about this?"

You're new around here, right?; 10/29/16, 1:54 PM
Heatshield said...: Hillary should step aside and spare the country the four years of scandals and investigations that she has spawned with her recklessness and corruption. The Clinton Foundation unraveling is just beginning. I'd vote for Kaine over Trump. Frankly I was hoping Trump would step aside after his video and we'd have Pence instead. What a mess.; 10/29/16, 1:57 PM
Curious George said...: "Heatshield said...
Hillary should step aside and spare the country the four years of scandals and investigations that she has spawned with her recklessness and corruption. The Clinton Foundation unraveling is just beginning..."

LOL Hillary would agree to have Bill and Chelsea executed if it meant she could be POTUS.; 10/29/16, 2:01 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: I don't have a lot of faith in Comey or the system. Obama's DOJ, Bill Clinton's tarmac talk with Loretta Lynch, Comey explains Hillary is guilty, then lets her go.

Media machine ushers in Trump.
This whole thing is a massive scam. This is what the Clinton slime machine giveth.

They need to go away.; 10/29/16, 2:07 PM
cacimbo said...: @Yancey. Huma was granted immunity. They can make anything they want part of an immunity deal, including the requirement that she surrender every device used.

I suspect Comey assigned trusted politicized agents to the initial investigation with the understanding this was to be squashed. The result, all the effort was put into tamping down evidence, not looking for new sources of hurt. Now that sloppiness has come back to bite. A bunch of average Joe agents suddenly got their hands on a motherlode of Clinton emails. Now that agents outside Comey's trusted circle have access to emails he can not control leakage. So now he is dancing in an attempt to save face for himself and the agency.; 10/29/16, 2:20 PM
Michael K said...: "Weiner's boner "

Great comment. His contribution to Huma if she cared. I think she, like Trump, prefers pussy.; 10/29/16, 2:21 PM
Larry J said...: "Blogger Yancey Ward said...
Abedin herself can release this material, and can discuss publicly what is in the material. If she hasn't given a press conference by early next week, there is only one logical inference one can make about the material."

If the FBI seized Weiner's computer (and they almost certainly did), she likely does have access to the emails any more. She probably couldn't release them if she wanted to. This is so damned funny. It might be DickiLeaks instead of WikiLeaks that keeps Hillary out of the White House.; 10/29/16, 2:21 PM
Jaq said...: Huma can log on to her Yahoo account from anywhere, and release the innocent emails.; 10/29/16, 2:23 PM
Jaq said...: You can't be cynical enough, this election. It's not possible.; 10/29/16, 2:25 PM
Jane the Actuary said...: My personal theory? The only thing that really makes sense to me is that Comey's new evidence is not about classified info -- that's already known -- but about intent, since his claim was that there was no intent, so no law-breaking, or, at least, no law-breaking that would result in a conviction if charges were brought. Perhaps some conversation in which HRC said that she knows damn well that she shouldn't have a private server, but doesn't care.

Yes, it's speculative. But if I'm right, well, you heard it from me first!

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/janetheactuary/2016/10/my-pet-theory-on-the-fbi-and-the-e-mails.html; 10/29/16, 2:39 PM
Birkel said...: "Rhythm and Balls" :

When you vote for collectivist politicians, this is what you get. Realize that YOU have caused us to teach this point.

Change your behavior.; 10/29/16, 2:42 PM
Lyle said...: It doesn't inform the public? What?; 10/29/16, 2:44 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: Comey's John Henry looks like "James Blomey". I wonder if he's related to Heywood U. B.; 10/29/16, 2:45 PM
boycat said...: If Clinton has been holding back anything at all on Trump no matter what we'll be seeing it between now and election day for sure.; 10/29/16, 2:49 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Hillary Clinton urged the FBI to release all of the information it has

Says the woman who destroyed at least 30+ thousand emails.

My theory: The emails on Huma's computers implicate Obama and they want to get out in front of this while Obama may still have the authority to pardon Clinton. If Trump wins, which seems more and more likely lately there will most definitely be an investigation into this whole steaming pile. And Obama will be part of the mess as well.

So....get it over with and throw Hillary under the bus while they still can and save Obama's butt at the same time.; 10/29/16, 2:54 PM
Real American said...: Bunch of whiners. The complaint is he's hurting Hillary, not that he's influencing the election. His earlier refusal to prosecute already did that.; 10/29/16, 2:58 PM
steve uhr said...: Reports say Lynch did not want Comey to write the letter to the congressmen. Didn't she recuse herself from all matters related to the email investigations of Hilary after her meeting with Bill?; 10/29/16, 2:58 PM
khesanh0802 said...: @ jane the Actuary An excellent observation. Clearly what has shown up is so damaging that Comey is not willing to go to the stake this time. he did himself enough damage the first time. This must be more than he can tolerate. An active conspiracy with Humadin as the gofer as Hillary directs?; 10/29/16, 3:07 PM
steve uhr said...: Huma presumably has a copy of all the documents that were contained on her devises and produced to the grand jury in the Weiner investigation. So presumably Clinton knows what the new emails say. Her claim of ignorance is not credible. She was hoping that the agents investigating Weiner would not recognie the importance of the new emails.; 10/29/16, 3:08 PM
Hagar said...: Also do not forget about the White House.
If the White House has concluded that a financial crash is indeed coming and war - big time actual shooting war - is likely to break out, they may also have decided that it is preferable to let the Republicans have the presidency with Trump for the next four years, and then the progressive Democrats will come roaring back in 2018 and 2020.; 10/29/16, 3:12 PM
Real American said...: New emails relate to Bill's meeting with Lynch and quid pro quo? That'd be perfect.; 10/29/16, 3:13 PM
khesanh0802 said...: @ Hagar "Wag the Dog"?; 10/29/16, 3:14 PM
hombre said...: Don't get your hopes up folks. This may well just be Comey covering his ass.; 10/29/16, 3:20 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: R & B made me think of all those "bad girls in prison" movies from the 50's. However, the women in those movies were hotties..

Hotties? Gawd no! She should be in units that feature inmates as ugly as those dominating the worst of the male wings! Female equivalents of big lumbering dudes named "Cookie." The kind that would make the cast of Orange is the New Black rank as "11"s on the Trump rating scale.

I want her in wings that are either solitary or coupled and dominated by the fattest, butchest Rosie O'Donnells and Rosanne Barrs and Sandra Bernhardts and Chaz Bonos and so on and on and on. I want her to be force-fed, in the worst way, by female equivalents of Guy Fieri. Except bigger and with more smothering potential. Not smothering from a pillow mind you but by oral sex favors under extreme compulsion as dictated by the prison economy and hierarchy. Otherwise she might like it too much. I want her to do hard time, undergo dark confinement in solitary, and not come out until she is hardened by the experience enough to convince everyone else. With a tattoo on her bicep that says "Mother" with a heart and an arrow through it.

Only then will she be in a position to render her VERY experienced service to the country. That's what I foresee.

For the benefit of all the young girls and boys of America.

Exactly the kind of example we need to set.; 10/29/16, 3:22 PM
Fabi said...: R&B wins the thread!; 10/29/16, 3:35 PM
boycat said...: She'll probably stroke out before it comes to any of that.; 10/29/16, 3:46 PM
Christy said...: At what point in the process - investigation, indictment, ... sentencing - can a pardon be obtained? Could that timing be part of Comey's strategy to punish Hillary?; 10/29/16, 3:49 PM
Gospace said...: bagoh20 said...
It's hilarious that Clinton wants the FBI to immediately release the information, knowing full well that they can't do that, and that she can.

Maybe. But maybe not without violating more laws concerning the handling of confidential material.

What surprised me? My family has a lot less money then Anthony and Huma. My wife, me, and my kids all have our own computers, and it's been that way for years. You won't find any of their emails or social accounts on my computer; you won't find any of my emails or social accounts on their computers. For a supposedly intelligent person, she was really stupid to not have a computer for work stuff that no one else accessed.

And I see from other comments that this occurred from a NY grand jury investigation. Wonder if the grand jurors are the ones who noticed the trove and pointed it out? Not impossible. When my son was sitting on a grand jury he and the other jurors knew all about a case that had exploded on social media over the weekend, and the county DA was clueless as to why his voicemail and email inbox were full. They told him all about him, and told him not to bother trying to bring an indictment of the adult involved and named in the news media.; 10/29/16, 4:09 PM
Achilles said...: This is where it is all breaking down. The ABC tracking "poll" that showed Hillary up 12 just a week ago now with almost no change in the results is a 2 point race because they adjusted who likely voters are. The results are still based off of 37d 29i 29r. This is going to be a turnout election and guess who is pulling the turnout.

It Isn't enough to win. We need to put as many of the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats in jail as possible and clean up our election system. This is just as important as securing our borders and sending the oligarchs packing.; 10/29/16, 4:22 PM
madAsHell said...: And Obama will be part of the mess as well.

I was thinking that the new emails allow Comey to connect the dots, but not impact the president. Although, I agree Obama was complicit with her email server.; 10/29/16, 4:29 PM
Francisco D said...: My best guess: Huma is going to jail, based on her lying to the FBI, misuse of classified information and testimony from her husband.

The pervert pedophile Weiner is facing a loooong time in jail for the child porn they found on his computer. He will roll over on Huma. However, Weiner will not testify against the Clinton's international shakedown racket. He wants to live.

Hillary will skate. It's not that the Clintons are that clever. They are common not-so-petty grifters. It's that they are Democrats and you know it's all about ... the children ... and a woman's right to abort them.; 10/29/16, 4:30 PM
gadfly said...: @John said...
How does this sentence make sense? The "Sunday shows" now run on Saturday? (The Sabbath)

Sabbath is defined as "a day of religious observance and abstinence from work, kept by Jews from Friday evening to Saturday evening, and by most Christians on Sunday."

I would not have guessed "John Henry" to be Jewish.; 10/29/16, 4:36 PM
viator said...: A federal grand jury target letter...

“This letter is supplied to a witness scheduled to appear before the federal Grand Jury in order to provide helpful background information about the Grand Jury. The Grand Jury consists of from sixteen to twenty-three persons from The Southern District of New York (in this case). It is their responsibility to inquire into federal crimes which may have been committed in this District.

As a Grand Jury witness you will be asked to testify and answer questions, and to produce records and documents. Only the members of the Grand Jury, attorneys for the United States and a stenographer are permitted in the Grand Jury room while you testify.

We advise you that the Grand Jury is conducting an investigation of possible violations of federal criminal laws involving, but not necessarily limited to *. You are advised that the destruction or alteration of any document required to be produced before the grand jury constitutes serious violation of federal law, including but not limited to Obstruction of Justice.

You are advised that you are a target of the Grand Jury’s investigation. You may refuse to answer any question if a truthful answer to the question would tend to incriminate you. Anything that you do or say may be used against you in a subsequent legal proceeding. If you have retained counsel, who represents you personally, the Grand Jury will permit you a reasonable opportunity to step outside the Grand Jury room and confer with counsel if you desire.

Cordially,”

"I can’t imagine very much is more terrifying for someone than receiving a letter from a United States Attorney’s Office letting them know they are under the microscope of the Federal government for suspicion of a crime. Quite frankly, even as a Federal criminal attorney when I hear of this happening there is an element of dread and sickness for the person receiving such letter. If you receive one of these dreaded letters, crap has hit the fan and life as you know it could be over."; 10/29/16, 4:37 PM
Martin said...: Lots of spin from the Clinton camp (in which I include all the media except Breitbart and similar sites) and some from Trump, but until we actually find out what are the emails in question, it's all just spin.

Personally, I think there is something suspicious in Weiner's phone and Comey was facing an open rebellion at the FBI, with agents leaking not just anonymous opinions but documents and going on record, if he quashed it as he did the incompetent original Clinton email investigation.

I have never worked for the FBI, but after a career in government bureaucracies I know how the professional staff feels when they see their reputations besmirched for narrow partisan reasons. I can imagine what it was like at a place like FBI, which until the Obama Administration had a sterling reputation and since Comey let Clinton skate, is a laughingstock. Even smart Clinton supporters who appreciated the favor, now know that the FBI can be rolled, and the FBI staff knows that everyone knows this, and after it is done once, the next time is much easier to do.; 10/29/16, 4:39 PM
Jon Ericson said...: @gadfly
Only you or ari, would be such shmucks.; 10/29/16, 4:53 PM
Michael K said...: I'll ask my FBI agent daughter tomorrow at breakfast about it. Three weeks ago she told me "The FBI will be OK."

She also told me she "Will not vote for Hillary," although she has been a lefty since she told me at her law school grad dinner (which I was paying for) that "You are a white male and your days are over." That was over 20 years ago.

She did say last month that "I won't vote from Trump." We don't talk much politics.; 10/29/16, 4:58 PM
Michael K said...: "I would not have guessed "John Henry" to be Jewish."

Adventists observe Saturday.; 10/29/16, 5:00 PM
mockturtle said...: Some of my early colonial ancestors were 'Seventh Day Baptists'.; 10/29/16, 5:24 PM
HoodlumDoodlum said...: The spin today is "FBI Facing Criticism"

The spin tomorrow will be "Republicans Overreach, Smearing Historic Likely First Female President"

The spin Monday will be "Brave Hillary Perseveres Against Dark, Angry Right Wing Conspiracy"; 10/29/16, 5:28 PM
cubanbob said...: She did say last month that "I won't vote from Trump." We don't talk much politics."

Doc, be grateful for small favors.; 10/29/16, 5:34 PM
Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...: Gerald Ford set the precedent. Clinton sold 'em all around. It's pardons for everyone.; 10/29/16, 5:42 PM
wildswan said...: The investigation of Wiener turned up a batch of Hillary-Huma e-mails that contradict what Comey said in July. Meaning Hillary should be indicted by her security breaches. Hillary people are trying to defenestrate Comey but Comey has the FBI behind him now. Tune in tomorrow for the next exciting episode of As the World Spins It Stinks More Every Day.

What I want to know is whether the FBI now has the e-mails Hillary deleted as "personal." If they were work related - game over.
If some were classified and were on devices personal to Anthony Wiener as well as Huma then Huma has endangered national security - game over for her. And I don't think Hillary can survive without Huma who probably knows how much magic elixir to give and when and how often. When Huma was gone on 9/11/2016 because Wiener was caught texting a teen - that (9/11/2016) is the day when Hillary had a seizure.; 10/29/16, 5:45 PM
wildswan said...: What if Obama pardoned Hillary? Carter pardoned Ford - Incoming President pardons outgoing for the good of the country. But what about outgoing President pardons incoming for the good of the country - that would be a first. And it would be a match for Obama getting the Nobel Peace Prize as he came in - before he did the Lybia, Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Then she could pardon Obama for the good of the country after the e-mails showed what he did. So symmetrical.

But why are they bothering about the good of the land of the deplorable and unpardonable?; 10/29/16, 5:54 PM
Dr Weevil said...: Something that is conceivable, though unlikely, outside of a novel:

What if Huma was forwarding all of Hillary's e-mails, even the most sensitive, to her mother in the Muslim Brotherhood? If a presidential candidate's most trusted aide turned out to be a literal traitor and agent of a foreign power, that would be explosive.; 10/29/16, 6:00 PM
TA said...: So, this all started when Bill walked across the tarmac and got on Loretta's airplane. I have a question about Bill: is he a serious man, or does he just like being an international celebrity and throwing his weight around some? Was he ever serious? Or was he just enormously greedy for power, riches, fame and pussy. It's like the title of a Ward Just book of stories. Except pussy's not the same thing as the love of women. If that's too cryptic for you, look it up.; 10/29/16, 6:19 PM
XisDshiz said...: https://youtu.be/ym-NMo0bJDU

Hitlary finds out FBI reopened email investigation - Downfall Parody

Please share if you enjoy!; 10/29/16, 6:22 PM
Lydia said...: Where's Huma?

A piece in the NY Times says Huma was "working from the campaign’s Brooklyn headquarters" today. It also says this:

"On Friday, several of Mrs. Clinton’s friends and allies suggested she distance herself from Ms. Abedin, a painful prospect given that Mrs. Clinton has described Ms. Abedin as a surrogate daughter and has relied on her more than anyone else during her nearly two-year pursuit of the White House."

Oh, the pain. But Hillary's strong, and I'm sure can endure the loss of Huma. But first Comey must be destroyed.; 10/29/16, 6:24 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: I am not sure that Huma would roll on Crooked Hillary. She seems pretty loyal, and they are in a position of rewarding her for keeping her mouth shut, even if she were to spend a bit of time behind bars. Simple enough when you have north of a hundred million in the bank, and a foundation that has taken in better than a billion dollars. Lot of money sloshing around. And, I am not sure how well Clinton would survive without her. Crooked Hillary apparently has serious health issues, along with an apparent drinking problem (drunk at 4:30 in the afternoon?) Mrs. Weiner seems to be the one who most protects Clinton when these things catch up to her. The one who frequently slept in her room over night, JIC.; 10/29/16, 6:48 PM
Pettifogger said...: My money says the intra-FBI pushback last time was substsntial. Maybe he had to do this for internal reasons.; 10/29/16, 6:49 PM
Unknown said...: Comey did not compose and send that letter for a "big dude." He is not doing this for political reasons, quite the opposite. Even if he is not around to follow up on what the FBI now has, he is exonerating his integrity in this entire matter to redeem his reputation and his conscience.; 10/29/16, 7:14 PM
virgil xenophon said...: Tim in Vermont @2:25pm/

"I TRY to be cynical, but I can't keep up."

Lilly Tomlin----------------------Political Philosopher; 10/29/16, 7:23 PM
Mary Beth said...: What if Huma was forwarding all of Hillary's e-mails, even the most sensitive, to her mother in the Muslim Brotherhood? If a presidential candidate's most trusted aide turned out to be a literal traitor and agent of a foreign power, that would be explosive.

It's a Yahoo account. She could just share the password with someone and they could log in and read the emails without leaving the evidence of a forwarded email.; 10/29/16, 8:23 PM
mockturtle said...: Something that is conceivable, though unlikely, outside of a novel

Truth really is stranger than fiction. If someone had submitted a script of this year's election, it would have been tossed aside as unbelievable.; 10/29/16, 8:28 PM
Anonymous said...: Blogger Pettifogger said...
My money says the intra-FBI pushback last time was substsntial. Maybe he had to do this for internal reasons.

Yep! Every agent and employee knows that if
they handled information like Hillary did they would be
buried under Ft. Leavenworth or would be
Chelsea Manning's roommate.; 10/29/16, 8:39 PM
narciso said...: it's like absolute power crossed with blacklist and house of cards, put on puree,; 10/29/16, 8:44 PM
CStanley said...: So is there any chance that Comey is actually a magnificent bastard who Is letting this all play out for maximum impact?

Maybe he knew how bad this all was but also knew the investigation was hamstrung. So he plays along with it but makes the statement that he did during the summer (perhaps hoping the voters will take care of the problem after hearing how reckless she was and reading between the lines also how corrupt the DOJ is.) Voters didn't cooperate though, she is still likely to win, so he unleashes plan B (having known all along that they could get Weiner on the pedophilia stuff and impanel a grand jury with power to seize devices from the household.)

I mean probably not, but it's a theory I'm kicking around.; 10/29/16, 8:51 PM
narciso said...: it came through the nypd who forwarded the info to bhaara, who then contacted the bureau,; 10/29/16, 9:02 PM
tcrosse said...: Truth is stranger than fiction because fiction has to make sense.; 10/29/16, 9:21 PM
Unknown said...: @CStanley

Everyone in the entire country knows how corrupt the Clintons are, including the people that vote for her. Comey knows now that it doesn't matter. He let her go hoping the best, but now realizes that his integrity is on the line.; 10/29/16, 9:28 PM
Anonymous said...: The real Rubicon crossing in this debacle was when Hillary and the Democratic party's leadership decided to press on with her presidential ambitions despite the fact that any of their Silicon Valley allies could have told them this e-mail and server nightmare was something that could drop at any time - not just during the campaign or as an October surprise but anytime during her presidency. And multiple times to boot, depending on the e-mail contents.

At that point Comey already had a hopeless dilemma - the FBI had the choice of recommending indictment for the anointed Democratic party nominee or it had the choice of looking the other way, neither of which is healthy for the integrity of the system. This move on Friday almost seems calculated to ensure that nobody is happy with Comey and the supporters of the loser on election day have a valid beef that the FBI tipped the election the other way (the fact that both sides legitimately could have this gripe won't change perception, just which group of voters feels cheated).

I only hope at this point that the election is not close because I think we are in for a world of chaos if the election is a squeaker like 2000.; 10/29/16, 9:50 PM
Lewis Wetzel said...: So are all political appointees of the executive branch allowed to use email tech that shields them from FOIA requests? Or just the Secretary of State? Or just Hillary?; 10/29/16, 10:31 PM
Gospace said...: OpenID cyrus83 said...
At that point Comey already had a hopeless dilemma - the FBI had the choice of recommending indictment for the anointed Democratic party nominee or it had the choice of looking the other way, neither of which is healthy for the integrity of the system.

I'm suffering from a severe failure to understand. How is it that indicting someone for crimes they committed, and she did commit crimes other people are in prison for, not healthy for the integrity of the system? I think it's just the opposite. Indicting her would show the average everyday citizen that no one is above the law, and that the USA is still a system of laws, not men. Not indicting her was a travesty of justice.; 10/29/16, 10:41 PM
Lewis Wetzel said...: Harold said...
. . . Indicting her would show the average everyday citizen that no one is above the law, and that the USA is still a system of laws, not men.
But that is the point, Harold.
In the old Soviet Union, in the first few years after the revolution, they weren't imprisoning and killing enough people to make the revolution work. Then they began to convict people for what the state said they were, rather than anything that they had done. They had been using antiquated judicial tools that said that guilt was a matter of intent. Man is an animal like all the others, you don't convict wolves for intentionally killing people, do you? No, you kill them because wolves, in context, are dangerous by their nature.
So in the early 1920s the Soviet State began imprisoning and killing capitalists and counter revolutionaries because of what they were, rather than what they had actually done. Convictions increased from the hundreds to the tens of thousands.
The revolution requires blood. It is not an option.; 10/29/16, 11:01 PM
Michael Fitzgerald said...: CStanley said... So is there any chance that Comey is actually a magnificent bastard who Is letting this all play out for maximum impact? Maybe he knew how bad this all was but also knew the investigation was hamstrung. So he plays along with it but makes the statement that he did during the summer (perhaps hoping the voters will take care of the problem after hearing how reckless she was and reading between the lines also how corrupt the DOJ is.)...
10/29/16, 8:51 PM

Naaahhh... Have you seen Comey's and the other FBI agent(Merrick?)'s dissembling and obfuscating testimony when questioned by Chaffetz, Gowdy and others on the House Oversight Committee? The repeated appeals to Comey's principles? Comey's own defiant indignation when Gowdy chastised him? The guy's a rat, a liar, and a mook. I'm not sure that this re-investigation won't be whitewashed right quick. The FBI is under subpoena and still has not given congress the full files and unredacted summaries of the FBI's investigation into Clinton's private server.; 10/29/16, 11:04 PM
Jaq said...: Comey threw water on Hillary. It is pretty funny.; 10/30/16, 5:28 AM
Jaq said...: "The American people deserve to get the full and complete facts immediately." - HRC

But not the 30K deleted emails, not the 1,000 or so deleted emails to Petraeus, for example, not the schedules of meetings with donors who gave millions of dollars to my political slush fund even though they were official records....; 10/30/16, 6:01 AM
CStanley said...: @Michael Fitzgerald- that testimony is actually what led me to this theory because something seemed so off about it. He seemed like someone who desperately wanted to spill some beers but wasn't at liberty to do so.

Granted, even if that assessment is correct it's more likely that the thing he couldn't say was more like, "the Clinton mafia has threatened my family" or "When it became apparent that Obama was an accessory to these crimes, I thought the country couldn't handle the truth."

But it occurred to me that it's possible what he was concealing was that another shoe was going to drop; 10/30/16, 6:28 AM
Sydney said...: Here's how my local paper handled the news yesterday morning. Headline: "Cautious FBI says it'll look at emails." Sub headline: "Newly discovered messages were not to or from Clinton nor off her private server." Nothing to see hear, folks. Don't even bother reading.; 10/30/16, 6:38 AM
Goldenpause said...: Funny how the news report of Peter Zeidenberg's criticism failed to disclose that Zeidenberg is a consistent donor to the political campaigns of Democrats. He donated $250 to Clinton's campaign in 2016 and $1,250 to Obama in 2008. This guy was trotted out to shill for Clinton and the news media, being the Democratic stenographers that they are, never bothered to find out and/or to disclose that he has helped to fund Clinton's campaign. The sad part of all this, is that no one will be surprised to find all this out.; 10/30/16, 9:48 AM
Hagar said...: Can you take control of a computer from the outside to the extent of entering Outlook and making a mailbox to load up with e-mails from elsewhere?; 10/30/16, 10:08 AM
Hagar said...: The other would be that the FBI had a warrant to search Weiner's computer for childporn and came upon these e-mails when they went into the harddrive to look for "deleted" messages.
Either way the agent must have gotten enough of a look to see that this needed to be reported to the boss pronto, but they are needing a new warrant specific to look at this material and report on it in order to avoid having it all thrown out in court.; 10/30/16, 10:29 AM
Hagar said...: Do they have the nerve to deny the FBI a warrant, the way they stopped the FBI from going to Benghazi to dig through the rubble there?; 10/30/16, 10:40 AM
Sydney said...: Has anyone noticed that the various paid troll type comments have been absent since the news broke about re-opening the FBI investigation? Must have really shaken up the DNC and Hillary campaign. Expect them back this afternoon after the morning talk shows. Should have their talking points by then.; 10/30/16, 11:31 AM
Anonymous said...: Clinton reaction to Comey news:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9CqwMPfsms&feature=youtu.be; 10/30/16, 12:37 PM
mockturtle said...: Said Sydney: Has anyone noticed that the various paid troll type comments have been absent since the news broke about re-opening the FBI investigation? Must have really shaken up the DNC and Hillary campaign. Expect them back this afternoon after the morning talk shows. Should have their talking points by then.

My daughter reports that the liberals on her FB have been strangely silent, too.; 10/30/16, 1:16 PM
david7134 said...: Hillary is going to jail. I was trying to figure out why her aide would send emails to herself over her husband’s computer. Then it dawned on me, Hillary’s server would keep emails from being archived and bleaching them would definitely remove them from any scrutiny. Huma was clearly aware of that, but by sending them to herself, she established a record that could not be erased. Thus, the emails would be in the Microsoft cloud or similar for Apple. Now, why would she do that? She states it was to facilitate printing. Why does she need to print them, especially all 30,000. And, she would have been required to give those papers to the FBI months ago or provide evidence of their safe destruction (I have to do this for medical records).

So, why keep the emails? It is clear that this was Uma’s get out of jail card. This was her little hide that would be used to negotiate her position in the future if a really true criminal case was developed. But the FBI stumbled upon it. These emails will have the dirt on Hillary and the foundation. It is what the public has been trying to get for years and what Hillary has been trying to hide, as well as Obama and Justice.

What does this mean? Hillary is going to jail (I am doing my happy dance). She might be elected as we have very stupid people in our country, but immediately a special prosecutor will be arranged, and she will go to jail. Her crimes are so extensive that I don’t think Obama can pardon her, and that may mean that Obama will be looking at time as well, and even Lynch. If Trump gets in, then he can use this as a spring board to clean house of both the Republicans and Democrats.; 10/30/16, 1:45 PM
Hagar said...: I think a lot of mindless chatter from people that ought to know better on Fox News Sunday today.
If an FBI agent looking for evidence of Anthony Weiner's sexting to female tenagers opens up his laptop (with Weiner's permission, apparently) and finds an endless list of e-mails with addressees and subject lines pertaining to the Hillary! investigation, that in itself is major news, considering that Huma Abedin has sworn she has turned over all such material in her possession and no more exists. If Hillary! is lucky, they will turn out to be just copies of e-mails already known, but the FBI could hardly take that chance. If it turns out to be new and damning ones in there, there would be hell to pay and no one would believe they innocently sat on the information.
This comes from agreeing to be the ones to go out there and make the recommendations about prosecution to start with when it is the DoJ's job to do that, but either Loretta Lynch baulked at it, or the White House for some reason wants to protect her.; 10/30/16, 2:21 PM
Fabi said...: Yes, Sydney -- it's been eerily silent from the trolls and apologists. The Clinton spin machine is turning at 2,500rpm and they'll have something hilarious for us later today. I can't wait to see the coordinated replies.; 10/30/16, 3:46 PM
Gospace said...: Hagar said...
The other would be that the FBI had a warrant to search Weiner's computer for childporn and came upon these e-mails when they went into the harddrive to look for "deleted" messages.
Either way the agent must have gotten enough of a look to see that this needed to be reported to the boss pronto, but they are needing a new warrant specific to look at this material and report on it in order to avoid having it all thrown out in court.

Don't think so. If you have a warrant to search a house for drugs, and happen to stumble upon a couple of dead bodies instead, they're admissible in court. The same should apply to hard drive searches. Once you've got a warrant to search it- or the owner's permission, which from some sources seem to be the case, anything you find is fair game. Especially if it were out in the open and not encrypted.; 10/30/16, 3:55 PM
Jack Tors said...: Comey's announcement regarding the reopening of the investigation suggests that the emails that the FBI's examined thus far contain material that hasn't been reviewed previously and is potentially incriminating evidence. It's inconceivable that he'd shelve the matter until after the election and risk recommending indictment of a newly elected president and provoking a constitutional crisis.; 10/30/16, 4:51 PM
Michael Fitzgerald said...: CStanley said...
@Michael Fitzgerald- that testimony is actually what led me to this theory because something seemed so off about it. He seemed like someone who desperately wanted to spill some beers but wasn't at liberty to do so...
10/30/16, 6:28 AM

You may well be right, CStanley. Especially now that the warrant has been issued for the emails. I don't know what to expect next- I don't even know what to make of what we know! Can't wait for this week to begin- C'mon Monday, hurry up and get here!; 10/31/16, 12:08 AM