Posted on 06/08/2017 7:28:23 PM PDT by MaxistheBest
Former FBI Director James Comey is now in a game of legal chicken with the Trump administration. Comey’s testimony (which, in case you missed it, is being given under oath before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence) and President Donald Trump’s repeated denials of having said anything at all about Michael Flynn, as well as seeking loyalty from Comey cannot both be true. Let’s do a quick side-by-side, shall we?
In mid-May, Trump sat down with Jeanine Pirro of Fox News for an interview. When Pirro asked Trump, “The New York Times is selling that you asked Comey whether or not you had his loyalty was possibly inappropriate…. Did you ask that question?” Trump responded, “No, I didn’t, but I don’t’ think it would be a bad question to ask.”
Trump is also reportedly still denying that he asked for loyalty, as well as Comey’s claim that Trump discussed the investigation of Michael Flynn, and expressed a desire for Comey to let Flynn go.
So if Trump is right, that means James Comey is lying under oath, also known as committing perjury. Here’s the applicable federal statute:
(1) having taken an oath before a competent tribunal, officer, or person, in any case in which a law of the United States authorizes an oath to be administered, that he will testify, declare, depose, or certify truly, or that any written testimony, declaration, deposition, or certificate by him subscribed, is true, willfully and contrary to such oath states or subscribes any material matter which he does not believe to be true;
Comey clearly took an oath. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is clearly a competent tribunal authorized to administer an oath. Comey gave both written and oral testimony. The only things up for discussion are: 1) whether Comey stated anything that he does not believe to be true; and 2) whether, if so, those things count as “any material matter.” Whether we believe James Comey or Donald Trump, I think we can all agree that testimony about private meetings between the FBI director and POTUS count as “any material matter.” Demands or pledges for loyalty, directions or acquiescence to back off an ongoing investigation, or the non-existence of such interactions is about as material as it gets. It all comes down to whether James Comey stated anything he does not believe to be true.
In some perjury cases, possible discrepancy between an accused’s perception of particular information and the actual truth behind that information is relevant. Witnesses aren’t expected to be perfect – they’re just expected to be honest. But in the showdown of Comey v. Trump, there’s no rational risk of interpretive differences making the difference. Either Trump asked Comey to drop the Flynn investigation or he didn’t. Either Trump asked Comey for loyalty or he didn’t. Either Comey’s written and spoken testimony is true, or he has committed perjury.
To prove Comey guilty of perjury, a prosecutor would need to introduce evidence that the conversations Comey detailed in his testimony did not, in fact, take place. As always, proving that something did not happen can be tricky. But “tricky” isn’t “impossible.” Perhaps the best evidence in such a case would be the tapes Trump threat-tweeted.
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press! 8:26 AM - 12 May 2017
Of course, it’s unclear at best whether the Trump administration would pursue a federal prosecution of James Comey for perjury, even if supporting evidence did exist. However, if the giving of knowingly false testimony given before a Congressional committee by a former FBI-director doesn’t warrant prosecution, it’s tough to know what would. Your move, Mr. President.
Bingo Jimbo.
The loyalty question is area that has significance. It is my thinking that the request for Comey’s loyalty was a test of Comey’s reaction. President Trump was testing Comey to see how susceptible he was to doing political favors. The evidence of this came from the way Comey operated as a shield to the Hillary email investigation. Trump wanted to see how Comey worked. Did he have any noble qualities or was he corrupt whose actions were to garner political favor. Was Comey really a Democrat operative who did nothing about the criminal activity of the Obama Regime and the Clinton crime family? Trump was testing Comey to see what baits work for him. It would confirm to him that Comey needs to be fired.
The inquisition that we witnessed today has backfired against these demons of the Swamp.
Hearing comey ...tonight’s clips... he should be taken to court. He would not say Trump was not being investigated, until today. He allowed Trump to be persecuted every day by the media, the dems and the left, when one word from him would have solved most of what they were doing to Trump every day.. he had to hear it and must have gotten his kicks out of knowing he could, but didn’t say what he said today... he had no problem hanging Trump out to dry! If it was Joe Blo, he’d be prosecuted by the left.. by the courts... and this guy has NO rights to any favoritism.. take him to the courts. If he was afraid and nervous today and in the presence of Trump, let him sit in jail for a time.
There is no excuse for what he did to Trump ... and today’s testimony ... hard to figure... he sat there and said he was weak, afraid, and acted like a kid... but he also exonerated Trump and maybe he didn’t aim to do that... but he did, so did he know the difference? I think the guy has half lost his mind.. otherwise, how could he ever have been the head of the FBI? And are there other FBI agents who are embarrassed by comey?.. angry at comey? He committed the unimaginable today by what he did for hillary and what he did to Trump! Sat there and admitted it as if he was sure he would never be held accountable or that what he did was even wrong.
>>>The loyalty question is area that has significance.
So what does that have to do with perjury?
Prosecuted for leaking classified material. That being the memos. Comey is in big legal trouble.
Comey never described the memos as classified in his written testimony or in his answers to senators’ questions on Thursday. At one point in his written statement, he explicitly said he “immediately prepared an unclassified memo of the conversation about Flynn.” He also did not correct senators who referred to the memos as unclassified multiple times throughout the hearing, despite taking pains to avoid discussing potentially classified matters at other times.
According to the attorneys on Fox News tonight Comey broke at least 2 Federal laws with the memos. They are Federal property and of private conversations with the President. We shall see.
We need Rudy G. I don't really care if he wants the job or not, lol. He needs to step up to help save the Republic.
The reason they keep saying "unclassified" is because they know those conversations ARE classified and Comey has committed a serious crime.
I’m curious about the 2 unnamed sources for the May, 11th article. If one turns out to be the friend that Comey gave the memos to, then release of the memos and realease of the information in the memos becomes one combined effort,IMO.
Wasn’t there a dust up about reporting the contents without actually seeing the memos?
What an incredible idea!
They should all be arrested for espionage and held pending trial. No bail, and passports revoked.
And I don’t wanna hear he was a private citizen at the time Comey leaked the memo to his friend to get to the NYT. I know the oath you take and the documents you sign when you get a job working with classified information. AS LONG AS YOU LIVE you are still bound to protect that information even if you are no longer employed as an official. You could leave the FBI and go work for Dairy Queen and you better not give out classified information you once knew or had.
If Comey thought it was perfectly OK to leak the memos, why did he not just publicly reveal them, himself, instead? There would be no need for this sneaky leak through a third party.
Sure, perjury and obstruction could be ancillary charges, but I’d think the clear classification of his contemporaneous notes typed on an FBI computer as government docs rather than personal docs would be most straightforward and would lead to the most time locked away. No?
And I’d like to see him both frog-marched and singing like a canary. I want both him and the bigger fish fried.
Comey leaked information from protected conversations with the President. Comey admitted he leaked it in hopes of getting a special prosecutor.
“Gents: Ok-so he took us for a ride. His actions were harmless(no effect). I say pardon him and thereby rattle the cages of the rats. More fun that way.”
Sorry sport Comey broke the law in several areas by leaking documents, those notes were the property of the federal government and the conversations were protected Presidential conversations.
I’m tired of faux conservatives wanting to let the criminal democrats go free.
LOCK HIM UP.
I see the pussy pansy crowd was up late.
Mr. Trump go on the offensive. Crush these assholes into dust. Build a fire under the AG or get a new one.
I wonder how much he has leaked since the election.
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