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If They Won’t Indict Jim Comey…
Many of us are experiencing a myriad of emotions over Attorney General Barr’s decision not to prosecute James Comey: rage, disillusionment, disgust, resignation. I suggest two things, however, that might yet take place.
First, there could still be indictments down the line. I’m hoping that AG Barr is putting together the strongest possible case to put Comey in jail, if only for a short time.
Better yet (perhaps), I am waiting for the day when AG Barr decides to hold a press conference. Unlike James Comey who inappropriately announced the decisions on Hillary Clinton’s illegal acts, AG Barr is authorized to make this kind of decision.
I would like him to announce all of the inappropriate, disdainful, unethical actions that James Comey took. I would like him to describe them in detail and with his usual professional tone. I would like him to explain why all these actions were contrary to FBI, Department of Justice, and appropriate federal government decisions. I want him to explain the distortions Comey engaged in and the partisan steps that he took. And finally, even if he didn’t break the law, Comey dishonored his own legacy and the reputation of the FBI in a way that the organization may never recover.
Then Attorney General William Barr can quietly walk from the stage.
Published in Politics
For those who might consider that a press conference would be inappropriate, I would suggest that the justification would be that the public is entitled to know the truth. I think that would be an important goal to AG Barr, who is conducting his current investigation to find the truth.
I agree with you down to the ending. It seems that there must be a legal reckoning. If nothing else, treat Comey like many of the others ( Flynn, Papadopoulos, Stone and so on)
I have heard that the case against Comey for signing a false FISA application is much more serious.
They never did go after Charles Manson for any unpaid parking tickets either.
Have patience.
I agree, @willowspring, that there must be a legal reckoning. But so many people have slipped through up until now, that I understand the skepticism of many. I haven’t given up hope!
No Swamp Creature will pay a fine, pen an apology or spend a hour in jail. They live in a different world, where the rules that apply to us little people do not hold. The Fix has long been in.
But a press conference is not “truth”. It is one side telling a story. Truth needs to be determined by argumentation in a court or by us all from a data dump. When an AG puts on the prosecutor hat, they should do their talking to a jury and nobody else.
I would prefer zillions of indictments. Each one is expensive and painful to fight. Each one provides leverage. Call it the Flynn Squeeze. I don’t think prosecution should be used a punishment, but I will make an exception for those who have abused their power.
The Great American Swamp is quite expansive …this may be infuriatingly relevant to your larger point:
(For those who have not seen it – or read the book – you should. It will enable your cynicism control knob to go to 11.)
I would like AG Barr to release as many documents related to 2016 shenanigans as unredacted as he can. Documents are black and white, and they don’t spin.
If he wants to summarize their contents or cross-reference them to what’s in an already published report like IG Horowitz’ fine. Better yet, release them in conjunction with court filings.
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IMO a big reason why Democrats fought hard and eventually torpedoed John Ratcliffe’s DNI nomination was the knowledge that Ratcliffe would release documents/data as able (meaning w/o compromising legitimate national security concerns) in support of AG Barr’s various investigations.
I would have liked the White House to have fought at least equally as hard for Ratcliffe’s nomination.
I want indictments, too, @dong. But I’m not sure we’ll get them. And I agree about the one-sided aspect of Barr’s speaking. So he should have someone else with a good reputation do it. I just think we are owed the truth, one-sided or not.
It may be that even without an indictment, Comey and his ilk will be left with a choice:
I’d advise going for #2, but there is a risk that as Churchill once said about dishonor and war, you may end up with both.
Barr’s reputation is fine. I am saying that nobody in government should speak out to condemn a citizen.
See Proverbs 18:17
Yeah, I agree. I think we’re just at the beginning of the investigation into the investigation.
I read the citation, @dong–“The first to plead his case seems right till the other party examines him.” Sorry–I don’t understand that in the context of this post. Just above that verse:
18:5-7: “It is not right to be partial to the guilty and subvert the innocent in judgment. The words of a fool lead to strife; his speech invites blows. The fool’s speech is his ruin; his words are a trap for him.”
I think he has made his own grave. Comey is not only a citizen; he was supposed to be a trusted leader in the U.S. government. He deserves whatever he gets.
Durham will be the bad guy. I believe there’ll be a reckoning – and I believe Barr will have just that kind of presser.
This article validates the belief that much more is coming down the pike against Comey.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the decision not to prosecute over e-mails? That’s only one of many things Comey did. However, it isn’t a good sign for one charge not to be pursued because the modus operandi of a DA is to throw the book at someone . . .
I’m not sure I agree. Barr will receive so much flack, that if he starts on small stuff, they will begin blasting him on anything he does afterward. I think using a laser focus and coming out with the whole picture will be very difficult to discredit–although I’m sure they’ll try.
Mark my words. Comey will never be indicted. In addition to the imperative that the Swamp protect its own, he probably knows where too many bodies are buried.
There may be some legal theater to pretend that justice is being served, but at most, a mid-level scapegoat or two might be sacrificed. Other than that, @doctorrobert has it right:
Maybe some people want to know where the bodies are buried. I won’t give up hope; it’s too early.
Even though I have little hope, I’d never wish to deprive you of yours.
Here’s hoping that, in this case, I’m too cynical. It doesn’t happen often, but it could happen.
Thanks, @terrymott. And not to worry–the hope I have is pretty small! ;-)
Susan, At first I was outraged too. However after reading the comments of some people I respect, some legal experts thought this first prosecution of Comey was kinda a trap that might make later much more important indictments more difficult. Some like Andy McCarthy thought it might be a tough case to get a conviction on. So as long as there are bigger indictments down the line I’m okay. If not, well then I am pretty pissed off.
I’ve come to see the situation that way, too, @unsk. I have a lot of faith in Barr.
I agree. I just wonder how long the little people keep abiding by the law if the powerful don’t bother. The problem with that kind of hypocrisy is it invites a wider contempt of the law.
Frankly, if something doesn’t happen with this and the Hillary classified server in the bathroom, then our country is just circling the drain. We might still be floating, but we’re on a disastrous path.
Let’s look at wikipedia:
List of federal political scandals in the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federal_political_scandals_in_the_United_States
Let’s look at William J. Jefferson who was so corrupt that he lost re-election to a Republican in one of the most Democratic districts in the country, a district which consistently gives Democrat presidential candidates 75% of the vote.
He memorably hid cash in his freezer.
Lets search for the word “freezer” in his wikipedia article. It’s not there, but it is in the footnotes.
Jefferson was sentenced to thirteen years in federal prison for bribery. He served 5 years.
On December 1, 2017, Judge T. S. Ellis III, the Reagan-appointed judge and Naval aviator who many conservatives had hoped who blow open Mueller’s corruption in the Paul Manafort case a few months ago, accepted Jefferson’s plea deal and sentenced him to time served.
…
Lois Lerner who was actually appointed by George W. Bush — the Justice Department determined that there was “no evidence that any IRS official acted based on political, discriminatory, corrupt, or other inappropriate motives that would support a criminal prosecution.”
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They do have a long article about Ricochet’s John Yoo though.
Like Dems with the Muller report you are all decending into paranoid madness. Don’t worry I’m sure we are just days away from Barr blowing this whole thing open. Remember he knows more than any of us, and surely this is all a prelude to future indictments and arrests, not just another over hyped nothing burger.
Ha, ha ha haaa… Go Deep State!!
Oh wait what if he writes a four hundred page report nobody reads? Maybe you can make plays of it.
Meanwhile looks who’s back at the FBI. Frequently at headquarters, reportedly attending meetings.
https://truepundit.com/wray-welcomes-peter-strzok-back-to-fbi/
Barr will play by the rules that Mueller did not. No indictment means no comment. The IG report, however, could be released.
There is enough evidence that the FISA applications were knowingly fraudulent that somebody will need to come clean about who knew in advance this was bogus. I would expect some dominoes to fall at that point. No one in that pack of narcissistic weasels impresses me as a potential Gordon Liddy, ready to take one for the team.
Most of the chattering class will not care unless Comey murdered a 5-year old and even then they would ask if the child’s parents were white Republicans. Any lawbreaking in the name of bringing down Trump is excusable. So it will take ironclad accusations to break through the silence.
The leadership of the FBI and other high ranking officials staged a Seven Days in May level conspiracy attack on the new President but that is not as big a threat to the Constitution as hurting Jim Acosta’s feelings.
What the heck is going on, @kozak? Any thoughts besides what the article says? Getting their stories straight sounds about right. G-r-r-r–rrrrr.