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Trump Fires FBI Director James Comey (washingtonpost.com) 810

The White House said today that President Trump has fired FBI director James Comey. Press Secretary Sean Spicer said in a statement: "President Donald J. Trump informed FBI Director James Comey that he has been terminated and removed from office. President Trump acted based on the clear recommendations of both Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. 'The FBI is one of our 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." The Washington Post reports: Earlier in the day, the FBI notified Congress that Comey misstated key findings involving the Hillary Clinton email investigation during testimony last week, saying that only a "small number" of emails had been forwarded to disgraced congressman Anthony Weiner, not the "hundreds and thousands" he'd claimed in his testimony. The letter was sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, more than a week after Comey testified for hours in defense of his handling of the Clinton probe. In defending the probe at last week's hearing, Comey offered seemingly new details to underscore the seriousness of the situation FBI agents faced last fall when they discovered thousands of Clinton aide Huma Abedin's emails on the computer of her husband, Anthony Weiner. "Somehow, her emails were being forwarded to Anthony Weiner, including classified information," Comey said, adding later, "His then-spouse Huma Abedin appears to have had a regular practice of forwarding emails to him for him I think to print out for her so she could then deliver them to the secretary of state." At another point in the testimony, Comey said Abedin "forwarded hundreds and thousands of emails, some of which contain classified information." Neither of those statements is accurate, said people close to the investigation. Tuesday's letter said "most of the emails found on Mr. Weiner's laptop computer related to the Clinton investigation occurred as a result of a backup of personal electronic devices, with a small number a result of manual forwarding by Ms. Abedin to Mr. Weiner." The letter also corrected the impression Mr. Comey's testimony had left with some listeners that 12 classified emails were among those forwarded by Abedin to Weiner.
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Trump Fires FBI Director James Comey

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  • by WillAffleckUW ( 858324 ) on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @04:55PM (#54387717) Homepage Journal

    So, how many in the White House were under indictment for Treason, then?

    • Humerous quote (Score:5, Informative)

      by ProfBooty ( 172603 ) on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @06:26PM (#54388367)

      This quote is interesting:

      "While I greatly appreciate your 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 unable to effectively lead the Bureau."

  • by presidenteloco ( 659168 ) on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @04:57PM (#54387735)

    After all it was Comey who got him elected.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by chispito ( 1870390 )

      After all it was Comey who got him elected.

      Are you complaining because the President didn't keep him in office to return the favor? Or are you just complaining to complain?

      • by drinkypoo ( 153816 ) <drink@hyperlogos.org> on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @05:04PM (#54387769) Homepage Journal

        Are you complaining because the President didn't keep him in office to return the favor? Or are you just complaining to complain?

        I, for one, made the same observation immediately. That's pretty poor payback. I don't think Comey got him elected singlehandedly, the DNC did most of it, but still

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by Bartles ( 1198017 )

          And John Podesta. He helped a lot. So did Carlos Danger.

        • The DNC did screw up, however the Russians hacking the DNC and exposing there plan to stop Sanders really turned off a lot of people who may had sided with Clinton if she won in a fair fight. The emails scandal was pure stupid because it is such a minor offense it wasn't really worth anything. But with people on the sidelines from the leaked info Colmy opening the investigation was enough to turn a few states red.

      • by MightyMartian ( 840721 ) on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @05:10PM (#54387823) Journal

        The timing seems a bit odd, doesn't it? Now that it's pretty clear that the endless attacks on Rice and Yates haven't prevented Congress from continuing to investigate the links between his campaign and Russia, it's time to start putting friendly faces in charge of the three letter agencies.

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by bobbied ( 2522392 )

          The timing is ODD? The whole thing is ODD if you ask me, just not in the way you are implying.

          Come on, the timing would have been "odd" regardless of when Trump did this. Of course the Democrats will decry how this is evidence of something "odd" going on that we need to investigate... Maxine Waters and Nancy will be spouting off about impeachment again because it doesn't matter what Trump does or when he does it, it's always suspicious to them..

          I think this is all odd in that Comey lased this long after

        • by phantomfive ( 622387 ) on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @06:43PM (#54388461) Journal
          It's strong indication that Comey wasn't really on either side during the election, that instead his weird behavior was merely a manifestation of incompetence.
    • by gweihir ( 88907 )

      It's Trump. Do not expect gratitude, respect for others or any recognition. Trump does not understand these things.

    • No it was very much hillary who got him elected, Anyone who was not a completely worthless human or clump of grass would of won over him; and the grass would of been in the running.
      Comey just provided protection, allowing the AG to keep her word of not putting hillary in any danger while at the same time stopping her political future.
      • by haruchai ( 17472 ) on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @11:03PM (#54389957)

        No it was very much hillary who got him elected, Anyone who was not a completely worthless human or clump of grass would of won over him; and the grass would of been in the running

        Trump went up against umpteen senior GOP candidates incl 1/2 a dozen former governors and beat them like rented mules, garnering the most votes ever in a Republican primary.
        Seems there were a lot of completely worthless humans both running against him & voting for him.

  • by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @05:04PM (#54387767)

    Who's next?

  • by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @05:06PM (#54387781)

    next a russian mole as head of the FBI.

    Next up: NSA.

    • by MightyMartian ( 840721 ) on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @05:13PM (#54387851) Journal

      But none of this is going to make the problem go away. He can't fire Congress, and he can't stop Comey and the other directors (or ex-directors) from testifying. I guess he could start trying to interfere with their investigations, but then that would generally be considered abuse of power, and that would give Congress grounds to impeach him.

      • by SuricouRaven ( 1897204 ) on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @05:15PM (#54387877)

        He doesn't have to sorry about impeachment. It would be a humiliation to the Republican party beyond imagining if that happened - they simply cannot allow it, and they have a majority.

  • Comedy gold! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Gravis Zero ( 934156 ) on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @05:12PM (#54387849)

    This is what get you with this guy: used and thrown away. Sounds like Comey wasn't willing to help bury the investigation into the mango-in-chief's ties to Russia. With the way the swamp is being "drained" in DC, I expect the new head of the FBI to be someone from the mob. ;)

    • Re:Comedy gold! (Score:4, Interesting)

      by swillden ( 191260 ) <shawn-ds@willden.org> on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @06:23PM (#54388341) Journal

      This is what get you with this guy: used and thrown away. Sounds like Comey wasn't willing to help bury the investigation into the mango-in-chief's ties to Russia. With the way the swamp is being "drained" in DC, I expect the new head of the FBI to be someone from the mob. ;)

      Didn't you read Trump's letter? He says that Comey told him three times that he (Trump) wasn't under investigation. Since Trump would never lie, and the FBI would never lie to a target of investigation, you can take it as gospel truth that that wasn't what happened.

      </sarcasm>

      Was I the only one that found it utterly bizarre that Trump chose to mention that in his letter firing Comey?

      • by dbIII ( 701233 )

        Was I the only one that found it utterly bizarre that Trump chose to mention that in his letter firing Comey?

        Autocrats do that sort of thing. Personal issues become the most pressing State issues. Expect a lot more of this sort of thing.
        It's new for the US Presidency but extremely common in various regimes. It's the sort of thing that inspired George Washington to refuse a crown and ensure that his power was balanced - he's fought against leader that was a lot like Trump and didn't want one running Ameri

  • Highly unsual (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Fire_Wraith ( 1460385 ) on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @05:16PM (#54387883)
    FBI Directors are traditionally non-partisan, and serve a 10 year term that is not at the pleasure of the president, unlike political appointees. This isn't to say that the President doesn't have the power to fire the Director, but it hasn't been done before, and would be a very unusual step. The question then is what is the cited reason for it, because given the current situation and ongoing investigations, it's really really suspicious, on par with the Watergate "midnight massacre" where Nixon fired both the Attorney General and the Deputy AG before getting to someone that would agree to fire the Special Prosecutor that was investigating Watergate.

    In other words, it had better be a really damn good reason.
    • Re:Highly unsual (Score:5, Interesting)

      by MightyMartian ( 840721 ) on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @05:20PM (#54387923) Journal

      It does have the look of desperation. I'm not really one to give much credence to conspiracy theories, but I read yesterday of some group of Congressmen (identities unknown) who are already meeting to discuss impeachment. I'm not really sure I believe that, but Trump is running out of people to throw under the bus.

      And how does firing Comey even help him? As I said above, it's not like he can't be summoned by Congress, and while I guess Trump could try to stymie further investigation, that would constitute a positively Nixonian abuse of power. As it is, Sessions has recused himself, so Trump's AG isn't really inside of this at all.

      • Re:Highly unsual (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Fire_Wraith ( 1460385 ) on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @05:33PM (#54387983)
        The reason being cited from what I'm reading so far is that he's being fired over mishandling the Clinton email probe. That his AG and Deputy signed off on it does not reassure me in the least. This is at best a minor, minor thing, one far less problematic than errors made by past FBI directors - ones that left people dead for instance. .. which leaves me with absolutely zero confidence that this is anything but an excuse to get rid of him and put a compliant stooge in that will quash the ongoing investigations.

        Would it work? Probably not, no more than Nixon replacing the Attorney General in order to get special prosecutor Archibald Cox fired quashed the Watergate investigation/scandal. At worst, I think you'd see the damning evidence start to leak out into the open, spurring more action.
        • Re:Highly unsual (Score:5, Interesting)

          by MightyMartian ( 840721 ) on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @05:38PM (#54388007) Journal

          The problem with such a reaction to a scandal is that it only raises the stakes. Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre was pretty much the turning point in the Watergate Scandal, where public support bled away, and with it his insurance policy that Senate Republicans would jump on the grenade to protect him.

          • Re:Highly unsual (Score:4, Interesting)

            by Fire_Wraith ( 1460385 ) on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @06:18PM (#54388307)
            The other possibility that occurs to me is that Trump, in his fixation with Hillary Clinton, intends to double down and try to replace Comey with someone who will charge her, regardless of the fact that it won't last a day in court.

            Of course, it could well be both, or some combination thereof. Perhaps Trump thinks the spectacle of that would distract sufficiently from the Russia investigation to let him quash it more easily, too.
            • by kqs ( 1038910 )

              The other possibility that occurs to me is that Trump, in his fixation with Hillary Clinton, intends to double down.

              What fixation? As soon as the election was over Trump stopped caring about Hillary's "crimes". He didn't really care even before, but it made him popular when he pretended and he loves being popular.

              I suspect that he's getting rid of Comey because Comey isn't playing ball quashing the Russia investigation, and Trump's all about childish outrage when anyone "defys him". Also, no republicans in DC will help Comey because this will just hasten the Russia investigation, and most republicans in DC hate Presid

    • It was the "Saturday Night Massacre [wikipedia.org]."

      The "someone" that agreed to fire Nixon's Special Prosecutor was Robert Bork [wikipedia.org], who is more well-known these days as President Reagan's nominee to the post of Associate Justice of SCOTUS in 1987.

    • by grcumb ( 781340 )

      FBI Directors are traditionally non-partisan, and serve a 10 year term that is not at the pleasure of the president, unlike political appointees. This isn't to say that the President doesn't have the power to fire the Director, but it hasn't been done before....

      Yes it has. Clinton fired the FBI Director for abusing the corporate jet to visit friends. That was the first and only time that I'm aware of, however.

  • Say what you want (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @05:27PM (#54387947)

    I know, a lot of you disagree and think that it's cliche and not authentic, but I do enjoy that new sitcom about a TV buffoon getting elected as the US president. Every week a new episode full of laughter and surprises.

    • by MightyMartian ( 840721 ) on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @05:30PM (#54387969) Journal

      While the ratings are high, apparently some people want it canceled. Something about it bringing the whole network down.

      • by Kiuas ( 1084567 ) on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @06:04PM (#54388199)

        While the ratings are high, apparently some people want it canceled. Something about it bringing the whole network down.

        "I’m a Leninist. Lenin wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment." -Steve Bannon [thedailybeast.com]

        It's been some time since Lenin has been brought up in the west as an exemplary leader but it has happened not too long ago: "Lenin is the greatest man, second only to Hitler, and that the difference between Communism and the Hitler faith is very slight." -Joseph Goebbels

        Goebbels and his ilk also had great ratings for a while but I've seen that movie and I'd like to avoid a remake, they tend to be even worse than the originals.

  • by SirSlud ( 67381 ) on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @05:32PM (#54387973) Homepage

    keep getting rid of the players and the only person left to look at is the manager

  • LOL (Score:5, Insightful)

    by JustAnotherOldGuy ( 4145623 ) on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @05:36PM (#54387995) Journal

    "Trump Fires FBI Director James Comey"

    L-O-fucking-L!

    I swear, if this so-called president wasn't busy destroying the country through his greed, ignorance, and epic incompetence, I'd be laughing my ass off at the antics of this draft-dodging clown.

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