Did he simply give the memo to a friend, or did he give it with explicit instructions? I don’t think Comey is the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he’s not stupid enough to commit a crime and then describe it on national TV. If he did this in a certain way, take it to the bank that it was in order to skirt any applicable law.
What makes it legal is that it wasn’t classified - not that Comey did it through a third party. Or at least that’s Comey’s reasoning. Had the memo been classified then it would have clearly been illegal. And is there ANYONE who believes this is the only thing Comey leaked? ~crickets~
I don't think you watched his testimony today.
COLLINS: And finally, did you show copies of your memos to anyone outside of the Department of Justice?Comey Hearing June 8, 2017 - NYTCOMEY: Yes.
COLLINS: And to whom did you show copies?
COMEY: I asked -- the president tweeted on Friday, after I got fired, that I better hope there's not tapes. I woke up in the middle of the night on Monday night, because it didn't dawn on me originally that there might be corroboration for our conversation. There might be a tape.
And my judgment was, I needed to get that out into the public square. And so I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter. Didn't do it myself, for a variety of reasons. But I asked him to, because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel. And so I asked a close friend of mine to do it.