The Comey Comedy Show

On June 8, 2017, the much ballyhooed testimony of former FBI director James Comey before the Senate Intelligence Committee occurred, and it was everything you could wish for.  In his opening statement, Mr. Comey stated twice that the FBI is an independent organization.  One would think that a man who served as the director of this organization for three years would realize that the FBI is anything but independent.  It functions under the Department of Justice, and Mr. Comey reported directly to the attorney general, who directly reports to the president.

I have no doubt that Mr. Comey believes what he said to be true after his infamous press conference about Hillary Clinton during the campaign, held without permission of either the president or the attorney general.  The fact that Loretta Lynch, the then-attorney general, had recused herself didn't excuse his independent action. 

He also stated that he typed his recollections about meetings with the president immediately after the meetings on government time, in a government vehicle, and on a government computer.  Not during the meetings, but after.  The reason?  That Mr. Trump is a liar, although no evidence was presented to support his assertion.  So, in all the years Mr. Comey has served in the public sector, the only person whose meetings he chose to memorialize was the person who terminated his employment?  Mr. Obama, you may recall, was a proven liar – remember "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor," and other things that are too numerous to list here. 

Questioning was predictably along party lines, with only one senator questioning why the committee should believe Mr. Comey.  Mr. Comey's response?  He stated that he was attempting to be "open fair, transparent, and accurate."  I didn't find anything in his response to change my mind that this was a disgruntled ex-employee attempting to do as much damage to the person who terminated him as possible.  The Democrats were literally licking their chops, hoping to get some salacious piece of information that could assist them in their attempt to bring down the Trump administration.  To a person, they all fawned over Mr. Comey and his years of wonderful service when just several months ago, during the Clinton email investigation, they were calling for his head like rabid villagers in an old black and white movie.

Mr. Comey, in my opinion, made himself look more and more foolish as the testimony proceeded.  He described himself as too cowardly to say anything when Mr. Trump allegedly asked him to drop the investigation into former national security adviser Mike Flynn.  He probably thought that made him look humble when, in actuality, it made him look even more foolish than the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz.  This 6'8" man, who was the director of an incredibly powerful organization, was too cowed to say he thought what was said was inappropriate?

It was interesting that none of the senators, Republican, independent, or Democratic, referred to Mr. Comey's recollections as alleged.  From beginning to end, this is a "he said, he said" event.  Even someone who is seen shooting another person is referred to as the "alleged" perpetrator.  But the senators, almost to a person, seemed to think that because Mr. Comey wrote as yet unseen memos to himself, he was entitled to being treated like Moses with the tablets containing the Ten Commandments.  When, actually, was all this written?  Where is any substantial proof?  I'm still waiting to see proof that the Russians interfered with the election. 

Mr. Comey admitted that he didn't share his concern that Mr. Trump could possibly be attempting to obstruct justice with his superior.  From what I have heard from various legal professionals, this is, in and of itself, a crime.

The stunner came when Mr. Comey admitted that he was the "leaker" of a memo he wrote.  He gave various inane reasons for why he sent it to a close friend of his, but the result was the same.  So one of the leaks coming out of the government was, in essence, done by the former FBI director himself.  Since he had been terminated, he felt that these memos belonged to him.  Sorry, Mr. Comey: In any business, this would be considered a type of work product, as the meetings occurred when he was an employee of the government, not a private citizen. 

That the former director of the FBI would leak something to a major newspaper, when he was previously paid to protect the secrets of the United States, is nothing less than astounding.  I would be curious to learn what other things Mr. Comey leaked because he thought they were in his own best interest.  His stated purpose was that he wanted to force a special prosecutor to be named, and he got his wish.  Conveniently, the special prosecutor has been a close personal friend of Mr. Comey's for years. 

The mainstream media, predictably, has already started their feeding frenzy.  Even Fox News, supposedly a conservative news channel, hasn't asked, to the best of my knowledge, where the proof is that Mr. Comey isn't the real liar. 

So the business of the country is once again put on hold, while the in-fighting continues.  Soon Congress will be leaving on their summer break and then return for a very short period of time before the end of the calendar year.  Meanwhile, inaction is blamed on the president. 

Enough, senators and congressmen!  This is paralyzing the country.  Try to act like adults and work for the betterment of the country and not like spoiled children.

Claire Hawks is a gray-haired granny and writes occasionally for American Thinker.  She had the privilege of editing Black Lies Matter by Taleeb Starkes.

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