FBI Director Comey has been dismissed by President Trump while in the midst of investigating President Trump – power politics at its most despicable. Here’s the statement:
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
ADVERTISING
inRead invented by TeadsFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 9, 2017Statement from the Press Secretary
Today, President Donald J. Trump informed FBI Director James Comey that he has been terminated and removed from office. President Trump acted on the clear recommendations of both Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
“The FBI is one of the Nation’s most cherished and respected institutions and today will mark a new beginning for our crown jewel of law enforcement,” said President Trump.
A search for a new permanent FBI Director will begin immediately.
Benjamin Wittes and Susan Hennessey of Lawfare:
The question before us now is whether Trump will get away with it. There is no question that the President has the legal authority to remove the FBI director. But there’s also no question that removing the FBI Director in the midst of a high-stakes investigation of Russian influence in the inner circle of the President’s campaign and White House is a horrifying breach of every expectation we have of the relationship between the White House and federal law enforcement.
What’s more, there is also no question that members of Congress, particularly members of the Senate, who are concerned about the integrity of that investigation and, more broadly, about preventing the gross political intervention in ongoing law enforcement and intelligence operations have tools at their disposal. We expect them to use those tools, as every American should.
Jonah Goldberg on National Review:
3) I keep reading that this is a “Nixonian” move. I get it. But that’s not clear. President Nixon fired people in the vain hope that he could stop the bleeding. There’s no evidence that Trump was trying to kill an investigation — yet.
4) Moreover, Nixon was a brilliant, cynical politician. I have a hard time seeing the political brilliance in this decision. Trump does not help himself with this line from his letter to Comey:
While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau.
I get what President Trump thinks he’s doing by saying this, but politically it’s the equivalent of saying “It’s not about the money.”
So what’s the real reason? Well…the FBI is investigating the ties between Russia and Trump’s campaign. If I were president while that was going on, I probably wouldn’t want someone running the agency who was eager to prove that he could get tough on my party too. Much better to have a friendly face running things. I imagine that Trump feels the same way.
But it feels like a big old hand in the air saying GUILTY!
Should this be labeled FBI or Trump Administration?
I wonder if this really qualifies as a silencing of Comey, however. He knows what he knows – and the Senate can subpoena him for further testimony as a private citizen. I don’t know how much he’s bound not to answer as a former Director – but his information remains fresh and hot.
But will the investigation continue? I suppose, like a headless chicken, it may run around until the deputy Director, Andrew McCabe, puts an end to it – if he does. But McCabe appears to be the choice of Comey, so we may see a very hurried choice by Trump for a new director. This must be confirmed by the Senate, however – and will the Senate permit itself to be hurried by an erratic Administration?
The political drama continues, while we blow about like a pennant in a hurricane. Will Trump’s successor have an intellectual understanding that there are fundamental differences between governments and corporations? If not, this will just continue.
