The Anti-Trump Tide Recedes

American Greatness ^ | June 2, 2017 | Conrad Black

[2ndDivisionVet]

Conrad Black has been one of Canada’s most prominent financiers for 40 years, and was one of the leading newspaper publishers in the world as owner of the British telegraph newspapers, the Fairfax newspapers in Australia, the Jerusalem Post, Chicago Sun-Times and scores of smaller newspapers in the U.S., and most of the daily newspapers in Canada. He is the author of authoritative biographies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Richard Nixon, and one-volume histories of the United States and Canada. He is a member of the British House of Lords as Lord Black of Crossharbour.

[Guenevere]

Bttt

[Fzob]

BTTT

[metmom]

And thank you Kathy Griffin for your help in the matter.

[ConservativeMind]

“While the president was abroad, it emerged that Former FBI director James Comey may have publicly recommended against prosecution of Mrs. Clinton after Russian intelligence falsely alleged the existence of emails showing that then attorney general Loretta Lynch would not recommend prosecution of Hillary Clinton.”

Uh, could someone explain this to me? At what time was Comey following any lead from “Russian intelligence?” Comey has Hillary's original personal emails on her hard drive, which he turned over to the State Department for ongoing review (never looked at/finished). He also has access to all emails from official government sources. So where are Russian-planted emails in all of this?

[Cboldt]

-- Uh, could someone explain this to me? --

The narrative on this one is nonsense to me too. Comey gets information that Lynch is going to scuttle the prosecution of crooked Hillary for crimes relating to the handling of classified information, and Comey, concerned that this information will someday become public, steps in and scuttles the prosecution of crooked Hillary for crimes relating to the handling of classified information.

The narrative bifurcates here. In one branch, Comey believed and based his action on what turns out to be a hoax, so you can't blame him for what he did. I scratch my head over that. In my mind, the offered narrative is that Comey has information suggesting Lynch is obstructing justice, so you can't blame Comey for getting BOTH Lynch and crooked Hillary off the hook.

In the other branch, Comey knew the information was bogus, which in my mind makes the entire narrative pointless. What, Comey gets information he finds untrustworthy, and that triggers a substantial public action on his part?

None of this makes sense to me.

[McGavin999]

Beautifully written. We’ve almost forgotten what real writing looks like. I miss it

[Cboldt]

Black v. United States is an amazing case. " ... someone has to resist the putrification of justice in these jurisdictions, and if someone of my means doesn't, who will?"

[Hardastarboard]

Ken Starr-like zealot

Conrad Black, doing comedy. If Ken Starr had been a true zealot, and done his job effectively, Al Gore would have been President, if only for a little while.

[Excellence]

but may have contracted some of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy that plagues CNN,

LOL, YES!

[Psalm 73]

Thanks for the article.
Conrad Black is another high-intellect NR contributor who, like Victor Davis Hanson, brings a contrasting sober view of Trump-world.

In contrast to full-of-themselves, Never-Trump NR writers like Kevin D. Williamson and Jonah Goldberg.
Who are both very smart - just ask them....

[Gen.Blather]

“None of this makes sense to me. “

Having published over fifty 1500 word articles I have, several times, gotten a call from somebody complaining about what I got wrong. I would then read the published article and call the editor. Often they’d say, “Oh, I changed that.” Or, “I didn’t like the way you said that.” Once I said, “But that isn’t correct.” to which the editor said, “nobody’s going to know.” I have seen larger egos, but they are generally possessed by rich people or politicians. The editors I worked with considered it their job to “correct” things so they looked the way the editor thought they should look.

I will say the writing style looks the same, but I raised my eyebrows and reread that paragraph looking for telltale signs of editorial “correction.” You would think this author could control that or the editor would at least go back to him with a question.

If editorial correction isn’t the case then the author’s statement makes no sense.

[Cboldt]

-- If editorial correction isn't the case then the author's statement makes no sense. --

While editorial license may be in play for the offered quote, the nonsense narrative is the same in all the articles on this subject. That is to say, they all agree on certain facts.

• Comey received intelligence information
• That intelligence is a Russian communication citing communication between Lynch and the DNC
• the upshot of the Lynch/DNC communication is that Hillary need not worry about criminal prosecution for having classified material on her private server, Lynch will see to it

From there, the stories diverge, but in ways that are to me, bizarre. Senator Graham's remarks suggest Comey did the right thing, scuttling the prosecution, if the intelligence was reliable, but did the wrong thing if the intelligence is unreliable. Huh?

I've read maybe 10 stories on this subject, and none of them makes sense of the agreed underlying facts.

I'm not saying the facts are true either, only that those are the offered facts, and generally used to exonerate Comey for usurping the prosecutor's function and publicizing investigatory findings. Maybe the whole thing is nonsense on top of fiction.

[Yardstick]

“flaccid but imperishable” — lol

[Tennessean4Bush]

Agree it is dizzying to follow. I think what the writer was referring to is that Comey believed that the Russians were going to publish something fake but he knew it would be very believable, so he didn't want Lynch to be the face of the decision. So he rode to the rescue.

It's all baloney, of course, and mere preening by Comey. I think Comey's story is what makes this hard to follow.

[Louis Foxwell]

Comey needed to forstall the NYPD in its efforts vis a vis Weiner’s laptop containing all of Hill’s server data. He did so by reopening the case on her emails which he promptly shut down with appropriate mea culpa about finding nothing. This short-circuited the NYPD’s investigation and prevented a deeper look into the tarmac collusion...with a ribbon and a bow.

[Louis Foxwell]

And, yes, the Russian memo is a red herring.

[Liz]

WRT the drive-bys obsessive compulsive disorder ----- knee-jerk responses to every and all anti-Trump rumblings------ Conrad Black got off the best line, to date:

"CNN exhumed Carl Bernstein, flaccid but imperishable, to try to lend credibility to this fatuous story ........."

I guess the Eternal President---Obama----was too busy keeping track of his vast "federal inheritance" to be of any use to CNN.

[poconopundit]

Ping. Splendid post. Thanks 2ndDiv.

Great to read the words of a man of high stature and eloquence explaining why the anti-Trump forces are in retreat.

[Deplorable American1776]

Great article...great writing...