"This has been an attack on the People.
..... It is treason."
Posted on 12/15/2018 8:06:42 AM PST by yesthatjallen
“I probably wouldn’t have … gotten away with it.” Those words this week from former FBI Director James Comey could well be chiseled in marble as his epitaph. Comey was explaining yet another violation of bureau policy during his tenure as director.
What was shocking was not that Comey violated protocols or policies again but the reaction of the audience to his admission. In describing how he set up a critical meeting with President Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, the audience was audibly thrilled by his cleverness in keeping Flynn unrepresented by legal counsel and unaware of the true nature of the meeting. Scheduled to testify to House members again next week, Comey may find a less rapturous reception in Congress.
In his interview, Nicole Wallace of NBC said, “It’s hard to imagine two FBI agents ending up in the State Room. How did that happen?” The audience erupted when Comey responded dryly, “I sent them.” What followed was even more revealing. He said, “Something we’ve, I probably wouldn’t have done or maybe gotten away with in a more organized investigation, a more organized administration. In the George W. Bush administration, for example, or the Obama administration, two men that all of us, perhaps, have increased appreciation for over the last two years. In both of those administrations there was process. So if the FBI wanted to send agents into the White House itself to interview a senior official, you would work through the White House counsel and there would be discussions and approvals and it would be there. I thought, ‘It’s early enough, let’s just send a couple of guys over.’”
Just send a couple of guys over. One line could not more aptly capture Comey and his own professed view of “ethical leadership.” The interview confirmed what some of us have written about Comey for more than two years. The media consistently reinforced his image as a rules driven and principled public servant, often referring to him as an almost naive Eagle Scout. (The Washington Post even ran the headline, “Boy Scout James Comey is no match for Donald Trump.”) Yet, Comey’s history shows both an overriding self-interest in his actions as well as a willingness to violate rules to achieve that interest. But his comments, including a call to defeat Trump in a “landslide” in the next election, have stripped away any remaining pretense. The fact is, there often was more pretense than principle in Comey’s final years as director.
Consider Comey’s conduct during the 2016 presidential election, leading up to his controversial press conference and public announcements, which were widely condemned by both Republicans and Democrats. As here, Comey failed to inform the Justice Department or the attorney general of his intended action. In doing so, he was far outside the clear policies and protocols. Indeed, the first public act of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was to issue a memo excoriating Comey for his “serious mistakes” and citing former judges, attorneys general, and leading prosecutors who believed Comey “violated longstanding Justice Department policies and tradition” along with “his obligation to ‘preserve, protect and defend’ the traditions of the department and the FBI.” Rosenstein added that Comey “refused to admit his errors.”
Then there was Comey’s response to being fired. He removed memos on his meetings with President Trump related to the Russia investigation, then leaked those to the media. The FBI and the Justice Department rejected Comey’s claims that these were his memos, not agency material. Some of the material was classified. He violated core FBI rules in removing the memos, and the man tasked to find leakers became a leaker as soon as it suited his interests. He also undermined the investigation by revealing to Trump and others that the memos existed, information that investigators likely preferred to remain secret before they conducted key interviews.
Then Comey published a tell all book, a sharp departure from prior directors, that discussed the ongoing Russia investigation. He did not pause before rushing it to the shelves, revealing details of the investigation and various meetings, and making a fortune for himself. Now Comey has again admitted to violating rules and protocols, by setting up Flynn. Ironically, Comey criticized Trump for breaking longstanding protocols in meeting with him alone and asking about an ongoing investigation. He was right in those criticisms, because there is a formal, fairly rigid process for communications between the FBI and the White House. Yet, the same protocols go the other way. If the FBI seeks to interview White House officials in an investigation, they go through the Justice Department, which communicates with the White House counsel to arrange the interview. He evaded both counsel and the Justice Department in ordering the move.
What was Comey’s justification? Because he could. He refers to the “process” of other administrations. That process, however, was still in place and did not change. Moreover, he noted that he thought he could get away with it because this was “early” in the administration. That is not principle. It is opportunism. He was supposed to work through the Justice Department and not simply follow the rules only if he might be caught breaking them. (Notably, acting Attorney General Sally Yates is mentioned in recently released FBI material as being irate over his action.)
There is a reason for the policy of conferring with counsel. It protects not just the individual but the institution. It prevents rogue or impulsive actions and maintains a clear chain of command within the Justice Department. It is part of the internal rules in how the components of the executive branch function and communicate to preserve both independence and proper review. It is part of the very delicate relationship that Comey accused Trump of violating. There was nothing noble in Comey seeking to reduce the chance that Flynn might have legal counsel. Those same liberals applauding him wildly now would, presumably, be appalled if a police detective proudly described how he prevented a suspect from speaking to a lawyer simply because he could.
Flynn ultimately bears responsibility for any false statements to FBI agents. As special counsel Robert Mueller noted in a court filing Friday, he should have known better, and we should not forget that Flynn ultimately pleaded guilty to lying. However, that does not mean the circumstances of the meeting or the conduct of FBI officials are irrelevant.
The agents, including Andrew McCabe and Peter Strzok who were both later fired by the FBI for their actions in this investigation, admitted that they discussed warning Flynn about criminal liability for false statements. They warned other witnesses, like former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos. Yet, they not only intentionally omitted that warning with Flynn but did not specifically raise a conflict in his denying that sanctions were discussed with Russian diplomats. They also encouraged Flynn not to bring a lawyer or to inform the White House counsel. Instead, they arranged a meeting just hours after the telephone call with McCabe.
Ultimately, the agents recounted that they did not believe Flynn deliberately lied at the time. Moreover, Flynn told McCabe that he assumed McCabe had read the full transcript of his conversation with the Russian ambassador, an apparent reference to his knowledge that Russian embassy phones were tapped. The comment further raises the question of why Flynn would lie about discussing sanctions if he recalled the discussion and knew of the wiretap.
Yet, Comey seemed to delight the audience by taking credit for keeping Flynn in the dark about the FBI interview. When Wallace asked what Flynn thought the FBI agents wanted, Comey replied, “I don’t think he knew. I know we didn’t tell him.” Actually, Comey didn’t tell anyone. Not the White House counsel, not the acting attorney general, not the Justice Department. He “just sent a couple of guys over” because he could “get away with it.”
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. You can follow him on Twitter @JonathanTurley.
The Halfrican tried every con in the book ...yet , the republic is still standing......no thanks to him and his crooked crew.
Comey isn’t a man.
He’s a dirty weasel.
Weasel weasel weasel
"This has been an attack on the People.
..... It is treason."
It proves the aphorism that ultimate power corrupts
End the FBI. Its becoming America’s gestapo
Excellent piece by Turley.
If there were any ‘ethics’ involved in DIRECTOR Comey’s actions with General Flynn, they were of the ‘situational ethics’ mode, one that is subject to an unbiased interpretation of “what can I/we get away with!” Despicable morality to boot!
The reality is you don’t speak to the FBI.... ever. Not one word, even with a lawyer.
Alternatively you just say “F*** You” over and over.
It is amazing that Comey is and has been a law unto himself for so long, and gotten away with it. He himself deserves to be before the court on many criminal charges. He is worse than what he has accused the President of. Unforgivable.
He is doing what the Deep State wants.
He is doing what the Media/Democrats/Progressives want.
They have been protecting him by proclaiming any action against him is obstruction of justice, for which they will impeach.
The civil lawsuits against Comey, McCabe, Strzok, Page and others is going to be massive...
“Flynn ultimately bears responsibility for any false statements to FBI agents.”
Really? If the agents lied, misrepresented or misled Flynn is that still the case?
My God, I guess if POTUS Trump could do it all over again, some of his initial personnel decisions would be much different and a better attempt at total swamp drain.
The President never really recovered from Chris Christie’s ‘help’. Christie BFF Christopher Wray at FBI is a prime example.
I disagree. There are countless examples of how they bust terrorists and organized crime and individual criminals every day. That said, take a damn bleach-filled scouring brush to the leadership.
It's the same as the problem with our Navy with all their recent mishaps. Admirals (some Captains) looking for their next star and/or political gain are to blame. The rank and file in the FBI and the enlisted in the Navy just want to their jobs. I don't trust anyone above 0-3 (Lieutenant)in the Navy anymore, much less the women who are pushed through for PC.
“and we should not forget that Flynn ultimately pleaded guilty to lying”
Under extreme pressure and without knowledge of what Comey had actually done.
Comey is guilty of far worse then not remembering all of a phone conversation. Flynn was head of the DIA, he knew his call was monitored and certainly said nothing that he thought was out of line.
1) He was the man in charge. It was his job to provide the leadership to enforce the "organization". This disorder was his fault any screw-up is on him. That he chose to deliberately take advantage of the disorder he allowed on an incoming administration is his shame and culpability alone. He created the problem he pretends to diagnose.
2) The disorder he talks about extends deep into the Obama administration and their end justifies the means approach to the law. It involves violations of both procedures and laws and political targeting of the Trump administration.
“take a damn bleach-filled scouring brush to the leadership”
That’s been said over and over a thousand times.
The organization itself will always produce people like Comey, Strozk and McCabe — it’s the inevitable result of the way the organization itself is set up.
Our ancestors - well, mine anyway, can’t say about people Comey and Mueller - didn’t shoot at their British overlords to create some monstrous police state. That’s exactly what they were against.
xThe FBI has NOT solved one huge case in YEARS!! Witness the Las Vegas shooting!! They didn’t even arrest his girlfriend hat had her fingerprints all over the ammo!
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