tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post6299597038747312495..comments2024-03-29T06:26:52.163-05:00Comments on Althouse: "Attention, liberals: Comey deserved to be fired, and the Constitution is just fine. The hyperventilation in Washington is unjustified."Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger162125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-21432496371151155212017-05-13T22:24:02.778-05:002017-05-13T22:24:02.778-05:00I said: Hillary was still exonerated, wasn’t she?
...I said: Hillary was still exonerated, wasn’t she?<br /><br />A reply:<br /><br /><i> Despite all the major media headlines, no, she was not. </i><br /><br />I’m puzzled. I see no charges bought against Hillary. She’s not in jail and not in court. Comey declared her innocent of crime and described her behavior as “extremely careless.” <br /><br />Let me put it this way: Please give some sort of explanation about how Hillary was NOT exonerated by Comey.gracklehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18138997480493469444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-52709899585073970402017-05-13T09:38:07.128-05:002017-05-13T09:38:07.128-05:00grackle said...
Hillary was still exonerated, was...grackle said...<br /><br /><i>Hillary was still exonerated, wasn’t she?</i><br /><br />Despite all the major media headlines, no, she was not.Ignorance is Blisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02338942311894099159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-65714932014847305032017-05-13T05:30:54.508-05:002017-05-13T05:30:54.508-05:00If Comey were trying to ingratiate himself with Cl...<i> If Comey were trying to ingratiate himself with Clinton, he would not have laid out the evidence collected. </i><br /><br />My guess is that Comey knew that the collected evidence would have been leaked by the disgruntled FBI employees who gathered it. Comey decided to preempt the inevitable leak by getting it all out at the presser. <br /><br />And the evidence really didn’t matter, did it? Hillary was still exonerated, wasn’t she? Comey paid a small, temporary blow to his credibility, as did Hillary, but what he did kept her out of legal trouble, didn’t it?<br /><br />And below, a different commentor:<br /><br /><i> He spent October, heaping praise on Comey. </i><br /><br />Trump was trying to keep the mountain of evidence against Hillary cited by Comey in Comey’s July presser in the voting public’s consciousness. Everyone in the country needed to be reminded that Hillary was guilty. There was an election going on. Apparently it worked – Trump won. And Trump had no way of knowing what an idiot Comey would turn out to be. <br /><br /><i> He then, according to Trump himself, met with Comey. And after that, when asked repeatedly by the press, everyone in the administration said that they and more particularly the President said that there was total confidence in Comey. </i><br /><br />All Presidents have total confidence in members of their administration – until they boot their asses out the door after a series of idiotic missteps, grandiose behavior and insubordination. <br /><br /><i> No matter what; your saying that Comey lost you last summer is not what Trump's position is now. </i><br /><br />Of course not. For one thing, Comey was never going to be an employee of mine. <br /><br />If I had been Trump in July I would have noted that Comey was willing to take one for the team. I would have been aware that everyone was dead certain that Hillary was going to win and that Comey was sending a message to her with Comey’s preemptive exoneration of her; a message of loyalty from Comey to Hillary. <br /><br />This type of behavior, ingratiating yourself with someone who will be(you wrongly believe) your next boss, is commonplace and predictable and probably something Trump has witnessed many times.gracklehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18138997480493469444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-8214976208999718012017-05-13T01:30:26.449-05:002017-05-13T01:30:26.449-05:00It's tough to explain Larry Tribe's behavi...It's tough to explain Larry Tribe's behavior, peddling rank conspiracy theories and frivolous lawsuits. It's like watching a formerly great ballplayer play out his last season, batting .200 and striking out a lot, hoping for one last shot of glory. Too bad. Makes me think of that famous line from The Who: "Hope I die before I get old." Douglas B. Levenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07916420802096618688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-37579809884606280632017-05-12T22:42:43.629-05:002017-05-12T22:42:43.629-05:00" “If X is true, then Y,” I do so because a p...<i>" “If X is true, then Y,” I do so because a particular story seems to be potentially interesting, not with the implication that I’ve independently checked its accuracy or that I vouch for everything it asserts.”</i><br /><br />Disingenuous. This particular story is interesting <i>only if it is true.</i> If it's false, it's just another malicious rumor.Zachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02284350648793830503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-69790503535896478542017-05-12T21:35:25.298-05:002017-05-12T21:35:25.298-05:00Burn the heretic!
Splitter!Burn the heretic!<br /><br />Splitter!Swedehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03057618129887829256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-60258050974043041492017-05-12T20:57:57.126-05:002017-05-12T20:57:57.126-05:00If I may paraphrase Otter and Boone in Animal Hous...If I may paraphrase Otter and Boone in Animal House: "hey you can't do that to our FBI Director. Only WE can do that to our FBI Director"Bay Area Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08342949066248487677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-20529926936043030952017-05-12T20:49:12.390-05:002017-05-12T20:49:12.390-05:00Snark said...
Because the "hysterical left&q...Snark said...<br /><br /><i>Because the "hysterical left" is lying about the current pressures on a free press...</i><br /><br />What pressures?<br /><br /><i>...the rule of law...</i><br /><br />Yes, about this they are lying<br /><br /><i>...and the very concept of truth.</i><br /><br />While I'm entirely unimpressed with Trump's relationship with the truth, the left doesn't give a flying fuck about it, at least not when the lies come from a Democrat.<br />Ignorance is Blisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02338942311894099159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-79603497303584648652017-05-12T20:09:16.011-05:002017-05-12T20:09:16.011-05:00@ Chuck, fopdoodle, so called
You lost me a while...@ Chuck, fopdoodle, so called<br /><br />You lost me a while back. Hillary thanks you for your continued support.Birkelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14205292523499913507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-30505534045528931132017-05-12T20:07:53.557-05:002017-05-12T20:07:53.557-05:00@ Robert Cook
You also know nothing of using quot...@ Robert Cook<br /><br />You also know nothing of using quotation marks. If you use quotation marks, make sure they are quoting somebody.Birkelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14205292523499913507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-8736397311608688612017-05-12T20:06:43.746-05:002017-05-12T20:06:43.746-05:00@ Robert Cook
You, as an atheist, know nothing of...@ Robert Cook<br /><br />You, as an atheist, know nothing of Grace.Birkelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14205292523499913507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-58091564331950778102017-05-12T19:56:47.831-05:002017-05-12T19:56:47.831-05:00grackle said...
For me Comey lost all credibility ...<i> grackle said...<br />For me Comey lost all credibility with the press conference on July 5, 2016, in which he exonerated Hillary, thereby shielding Obama’s DOJ from having to exonerate her. <br />...<br /></i><br /><br />For you, maybe. But not for Donald Trump. He spent October, heaping praise on Comey. He then, according to Trump himself, met with Comey. And after that, when asked repeatedly by the press, everyone in the administration said that they and more particularly the President said that there was total confidence in Comey. Maybe it was all just political bullshit for the moment from Trump. Gee whiz what a shocker that would be.<br /><br />No matter what; your saying that Comey lost you last summer is not what Trump's position is now.<br />Chuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07676108366725199186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-30166575022078692382017-05-12T19:50:38.057-05:002017-05-12T19:50:38.057-05:00"Christians say we are all redeemable but onl...<i>"Christians say we are all redeemable but only by accepting the truth offered by Christ.</i><br /><br />Right, the Christians say we are all damned...<i>"unless we accept the truth offered by Christ."</i>Robert Cookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06951286299515983901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-49119472633910233212017-05-12T18:06:05.816-05:002017-05-12T18:06:05.816-05:00@Bruce Hayden: Why do you think the FBI Director c...@Bruce Hayden: Why do you think the FBI Director can only be removed "for cause"?<br /><br />Here is <a href="https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/how-independent-is-the-fbis-director" rel="nofollow"> Lyle Denniston, writing on October 31, 2016</a>: "It is sometimes assumed that the President can oust an FBI director only 'for cause' – that is, for some misconduct in office. But, as a Congressional Research Service study of the director’s office pointed out two years ago, 'there are no statutory conditions on the President’s authority to remove the FBI director.'"Clarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17459992224851404501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-74775531532641256972017-05-12T17:32:43.197-05:002017-05-12T17:32:43.197-05:00For reasons I don't remember, I used to respec...For reasons I don't remember, I used to respect for Ron Wyden. But he's turned into (or maybe always was) a loon.Original Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01714345479248980398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-60411360125109768372017-05-12T17:29:05.365-05:002017-05-12T17:29:05.365-05:00Very nice of Epstein to argue that Dem hyperventil...Very nice of Epstein to argue that Dem hyperventilation is "unjustified," but since when do they need "justification" for anything? It's unfortunate, but arguments don't matter anymore. When a Dem rep says Trump firing Comey is an outrage but Hill firing Comey would have been great, you know, as if you didn't before, that it's all about power and tribe, who/whom.Sebastianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00505631054204611033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-77610899011053069172017-05-12T17:22:09.715-05:002017-05-12T17:22:09.715-05:00Ann Althouse said...It's social media. It runs...<i>Ann Althouse said...It's social media. It runs on interestingness. I remember years ago, in the first few years of blogging, I'd throw out things I thought were interesting and play with ideas, and I'd get pushed back so often with the phrase "you, a law professor...." so often that it became a running joke around here.</i><br /><br />Not just social Media! NPR had Senator Ron Wyden on yesterday (and replayed a portion of the interview this morning) saying that he's been told to not only follow the money but "follow the bodies" (of dead Russians, presumably) in the Trump-Russia scandal. That's straight up Clintons-killed-Vince-Foster-ism, right there, and NPR gobbled it up.<br />I don't think we can blame this one all on social media.HoodlumDoodlumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17591221162603652473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-21184414704520219482017-05-12T17:21:02.423-05:002017-05-12T17:21:02.423-05:00"Bruce.
If he can be appointed by the preside..."Bruce.<br />If he can be appointed by the president he can be removed by the president regardless of his term"<br /><br />And was. Bruce Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10815293023158025662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-21018751205639987302017-05-12T17:20:00.493-05:002017-05-12T17:20:00.493-05:00"@ Bruce Hayden 1:7 I usually enjoy your well..."@ Bruce Hayden 1:7 I usually enjoy your well thought out comments, but your mild defense of Comey is misplaced. He was incompetent, had made some fatal errors in judgement and his recent appearances before House and Senate Committees - if not disasters - further exposed his incompetence and lack of judgement. Rosenstein's memo was no fig leave. It was a only a partial indictment. If Rosenstein had wanted to embarrass Comey further I think he could have."<br /><br />Here is where you and I are going to have to agree to disagree. I don't think that Comey was incompetent, but rather caught between a rock and a hard place with Obama, Lynch, and Crooked Hillary and her various scandals. He couldn't ignore her crimes, but the DoJ and President Obama had made clear that they weren't going to prosecute her, even if she were the last person on the earth. Wasn't going to happen. But his people, the rank and file at the FBI, were apparently in almost open revolt over this. They knew that she was dirty, and should be in prison for the rest of her natural life, and probably the next several, if reincarnation is true. Yet, Lynch and Obama were telling them to stand down and shut up. <br /><br />At that point, I expected him, given his reputation for integrity, to have resigned. Instead, we got the non-indictment indictment. Which did get the information out into the public, where it belonged. And a resignation may not have. Not sure why he made that choice. But one possibility is that he thought that he could protect the FBI better this way. The other thing to remember about resigning is who would have stepped into his shoes, at least temporarily - Asst Dir McCade, who was already compromised by the Clintons, because his wife had taken over a half million dollars in campaign contributions from long time Clinton bagman, Terry McAuliffe. And who appeared to be slow walking the Clinton Foundation investigation already. The Republican majority in the Senate weren't going to confirm any potential replacement as long as there was a chance of winning the Presidency in Nov. any confirmation fight would have been bloody, to say the least, which is why, expect, that McCade would have stayed in charge through the election. And that would have destroyed the reputation of the FBI even more, with Trump being able to point at Clinton money seemingly have bought the acting FBI Director. Someday, we are going to find out what actually happened there, and I expect it to be interesting.<br /><br />The other thing to keep in mind is that since J. Edger Hoover, the FBI Director has had more independence than other agency heads in similar positions. You can see how this was a goal, with his 10 year term and removal only for cause, as contrasted to his boss, the AG, who can be removed whenever, for any reason whatsoever, by the President. I suspect that Comey went into the job expecting the same sort of independence that his predecessors were supposed to have. And, that is why I expect that he refused to profess the loyalty that Trump apparently required. But I think that he had already sold out, to some extent, last summer with Crooked Hillary and her emails, and was floundering because of the compromises that he had had to make by the time he testified last week before Congress. But I do respect that he appears to have gone down trying until the end to protect the FBI and its people. <br /><br />I do think that Dir Comey would have done just fine under a President Bush (41, 43, or JEB), many of the other Republican candidates last year, Mitt Romney, and maybe even under Bill Clinton or Bernie Sanders. The problem though is that Trump has a more businesslike, loyalty and effectiveness based management style. Trump just has no patience for bureaucratic niceties and political maneuvering. Bruce Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10815293023158025662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-26448549965704899292017-05-12T17:03:29.927-05:002017-05-12T17:03:29.927-05:00Bruce.
If he can be appointed by the president he ...Bruce.<br />If he can be appointed by the president he can be removed by the president regardless of his term.Rustyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00938263272237104128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-71778519383730530122017-05-12T16:34:05.875-05:002017-05-12T16:34:05.875-05:00@Ignorace is Bliss
Yeah. Because the "hyster...@Ignorace is Bliss<br /><br />Yeah. Because the "hysterical left" is <i>lying</i> about the current pressures on a free press, the rule of law and the very concept of truth. They aren't perfect but they at least seem to be aware that the wolves are, in fact, at the door.Snarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17307871260632554312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-47240294980523585682017-05-12T16:28:50.145-05:002017-05-12T16:28:50.145-05:00"At the same time, just like the DoJ can inve..."At the same time, just like the DoJ can investigate Congress, the Congress can investigate the Executive."<br /><br />And this is part of why Comey is getting little support in Congress right now, esp on the Republican side. Congress is trying to inv stigmata the leaking and the FISA targeting, and the FBI appears to be stonewalling them right now,,as contrasted with the CIA, which seems to have gotten the memo the 2nd or so day into Trump's term, when he made a special trip there. <br /><br />My theory right now is that Comey had to go for several interrelated reasons. First, and foremost probably, the FBI appeared to be stonewalling the President, the DoJ, as well as Congress in these areas. Maybe they all want answers more quickly than the FBI wants. Tough. You don't tell President Trump "no" when he wants answers. This starts at the top, which is why Comey had to go. Trump needs someone at the top of the FBI with an axe, and willing to use it, until the agency is brought to heel. As I said the other day, Comey's job, when hearing Trump telling him to "jump" is "how high?" And not to ask the opinion of Chuck Schumer, Jeff Bezos, and Carlos Slim first. Interrelated to this - Trump requires loyalty, and Comey apparently wouldn't guarantee that. Bruce Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10815293023158025662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-28312531253817937722017-05-12T16:27:26.919-05:002017-05-12T16:27:26.919-05:00So now Trump killed Vince Foster?
$10 million in ...So now Trump killed Vince Foster?<br /><br /><i>$10 million in Russian money</i><br /><br />What's that in real money, about $100? And the only thing you can buy with Russian money is uranium.Fernandinandehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11253225431705407699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-39907379864667013412017-05-12T16:27:10.796-05:002017-05-12T16:27:10.796-05:00Libertarian Richard Epstein is on solid group for ...Libertarian Richard Epstein is on solid group for as far as he goes with his analysis , based on Rod Rosenstein's letter outlining Comey's shortcomings, but he ignores Trump's actions, particularly the President's admitted efforts, on three separate occasions, to unduly influence the ongoing investigation of the Russians and the Trump team.<br /><br />if there is a linkage between Trump and the Russians, the President's actions are impeachable. No, I am not a lawyer and Epstein is, but I have spent nights at the local Holiday Inn Express.gadflyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06219461694806089345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-14616549428044052412017-05-12T16:25:33.211-05:002017-05-12T16:25:33.211-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Snarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17307871260632554312noreply@blogger.com