Comey testifies – no smoking gun, Trump safe for now

By
Martyn Bradbury
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18
0

I got up at 2am to watch the Comey testimony.

As someone who despises Trump and wants to see the end of this lunatic I was hopeful Comey’s testimony might be able to lead to the impeachment of Trump, but having watched all 2 hours of his testimony, it doesn’t seem like Trump breached any threshold that would see him successfully impeached for obstruction of justice.

That’s not to say that Trump’s one on one dinner with Comey wasn’t weird, or asking everyone to leave the room so Comey was alone with Trump wasn’t weird – it all was, but Trump is weird himself and it’s difficult to divide the weird from the illegal and the corrupt.

It’s a bit like Jared Kushner’s attempt to set up back channel communication links with the Russians. In a post-Snowden world, the Alt-Right see the US Deep State as more dangerous to them than Russia, so trying to set up communication channels that aren’t exploitable is actually the kind of stupid reasoning that would justify that.

Trump’s mix of corrupt capitalism, brittle ego and aggressive neurotic defensiveness makes trying to derive motive from his behaviour extremely difficult, and I think while Comey’s testimony is completely true and factual, the crazy shit that floats through the President’s mind which he can use to defend his comments makes impeaching him successfully an extremely unlikely event.

 

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18 COMMENTS

  1. It is too hard to get any “truth” from this fiasco. You may hope for impeachment but then what? Pence?

    At the moment all I’m hearing is partisan white noise from very corrupt parties. For example the accusation of ” Russian hacking” of the Democratic Party servers is indisputable. What is not in dispute is the corruption revealed.

    Might I suggest if you are interested in democracy a better option would be to use Trumps term to rebuild the Democrat party and process free of the corruption.

  2. The only and best route is for progressives to have a genuine alternative to vote for. Otherwise it will just be more of the same with someone else, starting with Mike Pence.

  3. The odd (not odd) thing is the coverage on RNZ this morning, which was all about Comeys testimony in relation to Trump, and the awesomeness of The American way and the FBI…but NO MENTION of his statements concerning his conversations with Attorney General and her relationship to the Clintons??

    “…..the conversation “gave me a queasy feeling,” Comey went ahead and followed her orders because “that was not a hill i wanted to die on…”

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-08/comey-admits-ag-lynch-pressured-him-use-clinton-campaign-language-it-gave-me-queasy-

    I know many don’t like zero hedge…but it has the transcript.

  4. ho hum..well it is all as expected…the mainstream media Democratic Party McCarthyist theory that the Russian hackers lost Hillary the election is a pile of crap to cover up ‘virtuous’ Hillary’s mad criminal goings on:

    ‘Comey Testifies AG Lynch ‘Pressured’ Him On Clinton Probe: “It Gave Me A Queasy Feeling” ‘

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-08/comey-admits-ag-lynch-pressured-him-use-clinton-campaign-language-it-gave-me-queasy-

    “In perhaps the most stunning section of former FBI Director Comey’s testimony today, he detailed his interaction with then Attorney General Loretta Lynch about his specific language about the Clinton Email “investigation.”…

    [“Holy shit! James Comey just admitted to colluding with Loretta Lynch to falsify his statements to benefit Hillary Clinton’s campaign.”]

    BUT …alt media is more interesting

    eg. this is more interesting… ‘crowd source journalism’…follow these guys George Webb and Jason Goodman and their investigation of Clinton corruption (like following the ‘Famous Five’ …but for adults)

    ‘Day 228.8. Hillary’s Leakers, Hackers, and Henchmen’

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj19S1Rha04

    ‘George Webb- Exclusive: Crowdsource the Truth Interviews Rod Wheeler’

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuq6ylMKS3U

    Day 218.11. Hillary’s Leakers, Hackers, and Henchmen

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycR1HW_DHcE

    ‘Let’s Collaborate’
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRaJhXB6BFI

    [‘FBI JAMES COMEY LEAKED MEMO TO IMPEACH TRUMP: Comey Sided with Democrats As FBI Director’

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-RLNu8L34A%5D

    […and who exactly is Comey?

    OH NO! TREY GOWDY JUST WENT ON FOX NEWS & SHOWED AMERICA WHO JAMES COMEY REALLY IS…

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMkXWJ3xiI0 ]

    • I trust Comey a helluva lot more than that corrupt narcissist in the Oval Office any day. I don’t know why some people keep referring to Clinton, deflection much? It’s the same BS that key kept coming up with, “but Labour did this” or “but labour were worse”. Stand on your own record or piss off. And the trump apologists can bugger off with that parasitic, pussy-grabbing freak.

      Whatever one thinks of Comey, at least he’s being truthful to the point of incriminating himself by admitting to leaking information to the press. When was the last time Trump was truthful? Oh yeah, “women don’t mind me grabbing their pussies”. Fucking charming.

      • Unfortunately Trump has an easy out here, from the accusation of obstruction of justice,
        Comey told him three times he was not under investigation for collusion with Russia. He also told Congress.
        Trump’s request that Comey somehow “lift the cloud” and officially tell the public was a perfectly reasonable request.Loretta Lynch doesn’t come off well either over the Clinton email investigation. Comey tells Congress that she asked him to change the language, and call it a “matter” rather than an FBI investigation. The Attorney General is meant to be impartial, not use her power in favour of a presidential candidate
        Then there was Comey’s testimony that the NYT had it totally wrong in their article titled”Trump Campaign aides had Repeated Contacts with Russian Intelligence”
        Impeach Trump by all means but for heavens sake, an investigation thats gone on for 7 months “Russiagate” has still not borne fruit
        Impeach him for unilaterally waging war on Syria without congressional approval, or something thats not pure conjecture

    • While the ‘Famous Five’ have disbanded in disarray and could even have been a case of a subterfuge white rabbit leading down into the intelligence gathering rabbit hole of Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass…dangerous for the sourcing crowd giving them information…

      …the fact remains…Comey could now be the one in trouble…not feinting shadow boxing Donald Trump:

      ‘Comey Headlines: From Vindication To Impeachment (Both Ideas Cannot Be Right)’

      http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-10/comey-headlines-vindication-impeachment-both-ideas-cannot-be-right

      “The Comey Congressional testimony was supposed to be a shocker. Instead, it turned out to be a big yawn with Democrats’ dreams of obstruction charges dashed.

      Senator McCain who was supposed to ask tough questions apologized for not being coherent due to lack of sleep from watching a late Diamondbacks game.

      Headlines range from vindication to impeachment. They both cannot be correct.

      How to Play the Game

      The Intercept says JAMES COMEY, A WASHINGTON OPERATOR, KNOWS HOW TO PLAY THE GAME.

      James Comey cut an impressive figure during his sworn testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. His presentation was poised, low-key, and almost cold-blooded as he laid out what amounted to a meticulously constructed case against President Donald Trump. Two overflow rooms and multiple live network broadcasts suggested that Comey’s mastery of public relations and the theater of government rivaled that of his former boss. The image of a decent government man dutifully saying his piece stood in defiant contrast to the atmosphere of vulgarity and naked self-interest that Trump has brought to the Oval Office.

      [but]…”Comey Hearing Good For Who?

      If Comey knows how to play the game one ought not find a Wall Street Journal opinion piece entitled ‘Comey Hearing: Not Good for Comey’

      The Hill reports Trump lawyer accuses Comey of ‘improperly’ leaking memo to press.

      Marc Kasowitz, the president’s outside attorney, said that Comey “admitted” to sharing the contents of memos recounting the fired director’s private interactions with Trump with a friend, who then leaked them to the press.

      “Today, Mr. Comey admitted that he unilaterally and surreptitiously made unauthorized disclosures to the press of privileged communications with the president,” Kasowitz said, suggesting Comey may have committed an offense.

      “We will leave it to the appropriate authorities to determine whether these leaks should be investigated along with all those others being investigated,” the attorney said.

      Trump Celebrates

      Is that playing the game well? So well that Trump cheered?

      CNN’s Senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta made this Tweet.

      [I’m told Kasowitz seen at Trump hotel last night celebrating, buying cigars, saying: “We won… it’s clear Trump didn’t do anything wrong.”
      2:30 AM – 9 Jun 2017]…

  5. The Super Riche in the USA are deeply disquieting at best. Have you seen the Queen of Versailles ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Queen_of_Versailles
    A deeply disturbing insight into the dark waters of the Super Rich. My favourite line was when Jackie Siegel tearfully recounted a story about what one of her kids asked after their companies started losing so much money they had to fly business class instead of in their own Gulf Stream. ( Tears and sniffling ) “ Mommy ? Why are there all these people on our airplane? “

    We have as much of a responsibility to extend an open mind into the freakish world that most Super Riche live within as they must, for their own safety and security if for no other reason extend their open minds into the worlds of us normal human beings who, if we’re lucky, cling to a meagre income stream at best.

    Trump et al, are not normal. They’re not sane, balanced humans. They’re psychotic at best. Look at how they live? Unless they’re very, very lucky, they must wonder what the point if it all is… Then in comes those other elements of what it’s like to be able to buy entire countries. They play each other and use us as the ball.

    That grotesque brain activity that grinds away under that orange cat skin is working on levels that’d boggle a normal ( What ever that is? ) mind.

    In a fight, you keep up on the balls of your feet, your knees bent and your guard up to protect your head, face and throat. We should all be on the highest level of readiness because this trump thing could turn quickly into a fucking nightmare.

  6. “In a post-Snowden world, the Alt-Right see the US Deep State as more dangerous to them than Russia, so trying to set up communication channels that aren’t exploitable is actually the kind of stupid reasoning that would justify that.”

    If the left had any sense, we’d be thinking the same.

    • “In a post-Snowden world, the Alt-Right see the US Deep State as more dangerous to them than Russia, so trying to set up communication channels that aren’t exploitable is actually the kind of stupid reasoning that would justify that.”

      Which is ludicrous if one thinks deeply on the issue. Does the Alt.Right really believe that there is no Russian version of the Deep State, set up to protect vested interests, oligarchs, government apparatchiks, etc?!

      That Russian Deep State, ruled by Russian oligarchs now cloaked in western-style capitalism, complete with secret off-shore bank accounts, has more in common with western oligarchs than most realise.

      There is money to be made in arms, fossil fuels, currency trading/manipulation, etc by the 1% – whether they reside in Moscow or New York.

      If the Alt-Right (and Alt.Left as well, by the well) doesn’t understand this, then they are more naive than I realised.

      The only difference – and it’s a f*****g big one! – is that Putin is a seasoned, experienced statesman. World War Three will not be started from the Kremlin, of that I am certain. He will treat Trump like the unsophisticated peasant (albeit rich peasant) he is; roll his eyes; and carry on working for Russia’s interests.

  7. Trump is about to get his ass nailed to the wall. Whatever shortcoming Comey might have, he comes across as credible. Trump is a pathological liar, a Yankee version of our owned esteemed Sir Fucking John.

    This matters. Trump’s climate change denial threatens us all. Anyone who doesn’t get that, well, get thee down to Antarctica and stand on the Larson Shelf. When that one breaks off, be prepared for some real panicking; https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/sciencefair/2017/04/03/antarctic-ice-crack-iceberg-larsen-c/99984132/

  8. Trump’s mix of corrupt capitalism, brittle ego and aggressive neurotic defensiveness makes trying to derive motive from his behaviour extremely difficult, and I think while Comey’s testimony is completely true and factual, the crazy shit that floats through the President’s mind which he can use to defend his comments makes impeaching him successfully an extremely unlikely event.

    Indeed, Martyn.

    The more I hear from Trump, the more I am reminded of our own former Dear Leader, now Sir Dear Leader. *gag* Trump tells lies, exagerations, half-truths, and threatens, as Key did as PM.

    When it came to the pony-tail pulling incident (to name but one infamous incident), I knew immediatley who to believe and who was bullshitting us. (Clue: the bullshitter wasn’t the young woman with the pony-tail and sore hair-roots.)

    Once again, Keith Olbermann nails it with impeccable logic:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rXQ7D19mhY

    • You state that “Comey admits that he leaked to MSM. This is an illegal act”. Nope. He was a private citizen when that occurred. So no law was broken.

      And by the way, even if Comey had still been a Federal employee when he leaked that info – so what? He’d be joining a heroic list of other whistleblowers like “Deep Throat”, Chelsea Manning, John Kiriakou, Edward Snowden, et al.

      Or are you demanding 100% loyalty to your Dear Leader?

      One more point; even if it had been illegal (which it isn’t), that shows the lengths that Comey went to to tell the truth – potentially incriminating himself. When was the last time your boss came clean on his mis-behaviour?

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