Report: DOJ IG Referred Comey for Criminal Prosecution for Leaks
Solomon: Prosecutors Decide Not to Bring Charges Against Comey
The reality is that we have two separate headlines, both covering the same set of events, and both attempting to produce a different emotional response. To be honest, both are true, and neither are all that surprising.
From the most technical of technical standpoints, James Comey broke the law. It's an obvious misrepresentative of basic reality to argue that he didn't understand that he was breaking the law, or that he didn't have any intent to break the law. FBI agents came to his house and seized classified documents that he had in his possession "after" he no longer worked for the FBI. He admitted he leaked some of them in order to persuade popular opinion and facilitate a special counsel. Comey knew this was a violation of the law, and pretending a former director of the FBI didn't know the rules is nonsense.
That being said, how can any prosecutor believe that in our politically charged society (where many Democrats still see Comey as a hero) that they could secure a guilty verdict in any court of law, much less in a D.C. court of law (where this would likely be tried). All it would take would be one person sympathetic to James Comey, and in Washington D.C. (which is around 90% Democrat) you couldn't throw a stick without hitting someone sympathetic enough to say he is not guilty (even of the most obvious of crimes).
Let's also understand that it would allow the media and Democrats to demand that Barr (and ultimately the President) were acting in partisan fashion to punish those who went after him. The politics of such a trial would be horrific, and more to the point it would serve the overall bottom line result of pulling people further apart, and picking open old scabs. In a situation like this, sometimes politics plays a bigger part than prosecutors would like you to believe.
Sadly, I can see similar logic used for some of the other criminal actions that will have to be judged. If I was someone like Peter Strzok, I might take my chances with a jury rather than take any sort of deal., even if I am dead to rights guilty of what I am being charged with. I suspect that there will be charges brought, and time will tell how those procedures play out. But make no mistake, most people are wanting to move on from 2016 and the ugliness of the situation, even as we understand that our FBI probably behaved in a fashion that would make J. Edgar Hoover blush.
24 comments:
And this is germane why, Lil Scotty??????? To anyone other than an old white man like you....does this have any relevance to the country other than you feel comey should go to jail.....BWAAAAAAA!!!!
Sorry Denny...
I temporarily forgot that you're an old white fart with senility issues. You obviously don't remember who James Comey is and what this who "Russia" thing is about.
But I promise you, that if you did still have cognitive reasoning abilities, then you wouldn't be questioning why James Comey, the Russian investigation, and the FBI's handling of it are actually a thing people are interested in.
That being said, not everyone who reads this blog is a senile old white fart like you, so most people will understand the relevance.
J. Edward Hoover?
Edward?
@RepMarkMeadows
As the IG report on Comey approaches, we’re getting the sound of silence. No Comey tweets. No softball interviews.
Must be tougher when you get questioned by a DOJ Inspector General.
The truth is coming. His actions will come to light. And the verdict won’t be pretty.
I temporarily forgot that you're an old white fart with senility issues.
Great melt down their cradle robber....I forgot you think, like trump, you are the smartest poster in the universe....With insults like that....you sure need help of your own....>BWAAAAAAA!!!! Too funny even for the humorless you!!!!! BTW,,,,,comey sure made something out of his life while you work as a janitor at a jewelry store and lost half your assets to your ex.....and now trying to lose the next half!!!! BWAAAAAAAA!!!! Yep, at least I admit to my whiteness while you just hate everything that is not......Keep digging sport....LOLOLOLOLO
Today's time reports.....
Gee, Mfg jobs in Michigan lagging....that should help maintain it as a trump state!!!!!! month, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts posted an essay on Medium warning of “the coming economic crash” and the “economy’s shaky foundation.”
It is a strategy that Mr. Trump used himself during this 2016 campaign. Although the jobless rate dropped sharply and millions of jobs were created during President Barack Obama’s tenure, Mr. Trump hammered away at the economy’s weaknesses, highlighting job losses in manufacturing and dismissing the government’s job reports as phony.
Even with the jobless rate at a 50-year low, the expansion remains uneven. A broader measure of unemployment that includes part-timers who would prefer full-time work and people who are too discouraged to even search for a job is close to twice the official unemployment rate. That helps explain why so many Americans say they lack economic security and stability.
And the jobless rates for African-Americans and Hispanics are much higher than they are for whites.
The job picture also varies widely depending on location. In several metropolitan areas, including New Orleans and Flint, Mich., the unemployment rate lingers above the national average.
@OrionKevin
We all know Hillary belongs in prison. I handled classified info for 6 years, if I did anything close to what she did I would have been in Leavenworth for life.
Gee Denny,
The difference is that Obama and the rest of the socialist told Americans that job in manufacturing and many other areas were gone for good. Learn to code or invest in green was the way it was explained to people. Or the way it was explained while looking down on them like they didn't matter.
Trump came along and called B.S. on Obama and told the American public that there is still a place for manufacturing and traditional jobs (that do not revolve around green energy or having to code). As much as liberals want to kick and scream about it, the world is not going green by 2020, and a President shouldn't be trying to ruin existing industries to make way for what he wants.
It really didn't take much from Trump. Lifting some of the overbearing regulations, providing similar incentives for a traditional business as you would for a green business. It's not rocket science here. Obama was working "against" manufacturing and traditional businesses as much as he was working for "green solutions". He took sides. People noticed.
So if a Democrat wants to step up and demand that the economy sucks, because they believe that is what Trump was doing, then good luck with that. The reason why Democrats are not talking about the economy in these debates is because it's a loser for them. Instead they talk about free stuff, free stuff, and more free stuff.
The difference is that Obama and the rest of the socialist told Americans that job in manufacturing and many other areas were gone for good.
The problem is Lil Scotty is you tossed the bath water and the baby out with your bias....MFG will go to the cheapest place, which is again holding true...Maybe you can help those GM workers whose plant is shutting down in Trump country Michigan....maybe they and their family who voted for trump will not this go around as his promise to those workers go down the shitter, just like you and you illogic!!!!!!! BWAAAAAAA!!! The fact remains Mfg is extremely soft and the new tariffs on China will not help!!!!!! Policy ain't the problem....the american dream is!!!!!!
No wonder why the fed lowered interest rate.....bumps are a coming!!!!
Daniel Zhao
@danielbzhao
· 45m
Replying to @danielbzhao
Payrolls gained 164K, only marginally below expectation as well. Revisions downward in May/June do lose us 31K jobs though, bringing 2018 avg to 165K vs. 2019 avg of 223K. Clearly, the labor market is slowing in 2019 though healthy overall.#JobsReport #JobsDay
From Market watch....trumps 3% gdp is a bigger pipe dream than his old fat white stupid ass!!!!!
• “The data are consistent with our call for just one more Fed cut, given that the US actually needs to see growth no higher than 2% to avoid overheating the labor market.” — Avery Shenfeld, CIBC Economics.
A broader measure of unemployment that includes part-timers who would prefer full-time work and people who are too discouraged to even search for a job is close to twice the official unemployment rate. That helps explain why so many Americans say they lack economic security and stability.
it's called the BLS U-6 number and it's ALWAYS close to twice the official unemployment rate.
we touted the BLS U-6 number as the true unenjoyment rate during the 0linsky regime and were scoffed at every single time.
and like the debt and deficit, suddenly the U-6 is relevant because the GOP occupies the white house.
hypocrisy is the bedrock of liberalism.
Obama was working "against" manufacturing and traditional businesses as much as he was working for "green solutions". He took sides. People noticed.
0linsky's pals at fisker, solyndra, et. al. stuffed their pocket's with taxpayer dollars, shut the doors and slipped away in the dead of night.
the only thing that skeets did that even came close to helping manufacturing was the auto bailout, which fucked the bondholders and shoveled cash to the scumbags at the UAW.
Our great Republican Congressman John Ratcliffe is being treated very unfairly by the LameStream Media. Rather than going through months of slander and libel, I explained to John how miserable it would be for him and his family to deal with these people........John has therefore decided to stay in Congress where he has done such an outstanding job representing the people of Texas, and our Country. I will be announcing my nomination for DNI shortly.
He was not qualified for the job.
The intelligence community was not amused by the President. He was nothing but a cocksucer of the President.
@Chadwick_Moore
A source says therapists in California are desperately seeking Trump paraphernalia to treat TDS, my latest in @spectatorUSA
https://spectator.us/maga-exposure-therapy-trump-derangement-syndrome/
@charliekirk11
Trump got A$AP Rocky home from the socialist Swedes!
Obama would have let him stay in prison and would have avoided confrontation
Trump has delivered more results for the black community than the Democrats have in 50 years
Massive win!
@LarrySchweikart
Winning
All 83 Ethics Complaints Against Justice Brett Kavanaugh Have Been Dismissed For Good https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetillman/ethics-complaints-dismissed-brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court …
He was not qualified for the job
He was on the intelligence committee.
The Real Headline.
The only African American Republican congressman is retiring from the Trumplican party.
I’ve taken a conservative message to places that don’t often hear it. Folks in these communities believe in order to solve problems we should empower people not the government, help families move up the economic ladder through free markets not socialism and achieve and maintain peace by being nice with nice guys and tough with tough guys. These Republican ideals resonate with people who don’t think they identify with the Republican Party. Every American should feel they have a home in our party.
Before Trump’s election, Hurd was seen as a rising star in a party that had been seeking to broaden its appeal beyond white voters. But as Republicans largely rallied around the president’s strategy of stoking racial and ethnic divisions, Hurd became a more and more lonely voice of moderation on issues such as immigration and the border. He was first elected in 2014 and won his reelection bid last year by just 1,000 votes in a district that Hillary Clinton narrowly carried in 2016. Hurd’s retirement immediately makes Democrats favored to pick up his seat next fall, according to congressional forecasters. With Hurd’s departure, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina will be the only elected black Republican in the Capitol.
Party operatives were practically despondent at Hurd’s decision. “This is awful news for the GOP,” tweeted Doug Heye, a onetime senior aide to former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. “This is a heavy loss. Sigh,” added Rory Cooper, another former Cantor aide.
The White Supremacist President is destroying the Republican party.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/08/will-hurd-retirement-house-republicans-trump/595378/
WASHINGTON — Aides to the congressman chosen by President Trump to lead the nation’s intelligence agencies were forced on Tuesday to clarify his claims that he had won terrorism convictions as a federal prosecutor, as his background came under new scrutiny.
Mr. Trump’s pick, Representative John Ratcliffe, Republican of Texas, had said on his House website and in campaign material that he had tried suspects accused of funneling money to the Hamas terrorist group. But instead, an aide said, Mr. Ratcliffe had investigated side issues related to an initial mistrial, and did not prosecute the case either in that proceeding or in a successful second trial.
The questions about Mr. Ratcliffe’s résumé came amid broader concerns from Democrats and even some Republicans about the depth of his experience and his partisan outspokenness.
Rachel Stephens, a spokeswoman for Mr. Ratcliffe’s congressional office, confirmed that the Justice Department appointed him “to investigate issues related to the outcome” of the Hamas case.
Mr. Trump defended Mr. Ratcliffe as the right choice to rein in intelligence agencies, which he has long viewed with skepticism and openly disparaged. “We need somebody strong that can really rein it in, because as I think you’ve all learned, the intelligence agencies have run amok,” the president told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House on Tuesday. “They run amok.”
Those comments are unlikely to persuade skeptics in the Senate, particularly lawmakers who have been supportive of Dan Coats, the outgoing director of national intelligence. Mr. Trump announced Mr. Coats’s departure on Sunday and his intent to nominate Mr. Ratcliffe, an ardent defender of the president with relatively little intelligence experience, as his replacement.
Mr. Ratcliffe’s statements about his role in the Hamas case seems to be the clearest instance of an overstated résumé, but there are other examples relevant to his stated credentials to oversee the intelligence community.
While he has touted his role as the United States attorney for the Eastern District of Texas during the George W. Bush administration, Mr. Ratcliffe was an interim holder of that position, bridging a gap of less than a year between two Senate-confirmed presidential appointees.
He has emphasized that his previous responsibilities as an assistant prosecutor in that office included overseeing terrorism investigations. But examples of significant national-security cases — as opposed to more common crimes like fraud and drugs — arising in eastern Texas during that period are not readily apparent in the public record; he did prosecute a psychologically troubled Iraq War veteran who pleaded guilty to possessing a pipe bomb.
Malcolm Bales, who worked as a prosecutor in the office from 1989 until his retirement in 2016, culminating in more than seven years as the United States attorney, praised Mr. Ratcliffe as “a bright guy and a quick study” but acknowledged that he could not recall a single terrorism prosecution in the Eastern District of Texas during Mr. Ratcliffe’s time there.
“There were none,” Mr. Bales said, adding, “They are not common in our district.”
(…)
The terrorism case that Mr. Ratcliffe has touted, United States vs. the Holy Land Foundation, was one of the government’s most complex and prominent efforts to shut down funding of terrorist organizations in the decade after the Sept. 11 attacks. The case involved a Muslim charity sending money to Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza.
A 2015 news release on Mr. Ratcliffe’s House website said “he convicted individuals funneling money to Hamas.” A 2016 post on his campaign website said he had a “special appointment as a prosecutor” in the case.
And the biography on his House websiteappears to point to the claim, stating that Mr. Ratcliffe “put terrorists in prison.” But he played no part in the substance of the case, said three former government lawyers and a former senior F.B.I. official directly involved in the case. It was prosecuted in a different Texas district.
“It doesn’t sound accurate,” James T. Jacks, one of the prosecutors on the case said of the Ratcliffe campaign statements. “But they have since corrected the record.”
Mr. Ratcliffe was asked to investigate possible irregularities that had led to an embarrassing October 2007 mistrial, said Nathan F. Garrett, another prosecutor on the case.
“John was brought in because the trial team could not look at that,” Mr. Garrett said in an interview. “It involved a jury and defendants that we were trying, so John was brought in so as not to taint it.”
Ms. Stephens would not confirm further details about the Holy Lands case, citing Justice Department policy to keep private any information about investigations that result in no charges. NBC News and ABC News earlier reported the questions about Mr. Ratcliffe’s résumé.
Being on the committee is not a qualification for the most important agencies.
https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/john-ratcliffe-is-not-qualified-to-be-director-of-national-intelligence/
This is so unnecessary. 🙄
Nikki Haley
Who is the chairman of the intelligence committee?
Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)
What do you mean?
He never convinced any terrorists as he claimed.
Mr. Trump indicated that he believed the criticism of Mr. Ratcliffe’s experience was going to continue, and that it was time to move on.
Past announced selections for senior jobs who withdrew from consideration after negative information came to public light include Mr. Trump’s first nominee for labor secretary, Andrew F. Puzder; his pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, Dr. Ronny L. Jackson; his picks for secretary of the Army and secretary of the Navy; Heather Nauert, his earlier choice to serve as United Nations ambassador; and two political allies, Stephen Moore and Herman Cain, whom Mr. Trump wanted to serve on the Federal Reserve board.
As the list of failed choices has grown, observers questioned the rigor of the White House vetting process.
Chaos is the Coldheartedtruth about this President.
Trump Drops Spy Chief Pick After Bipartisan Pushback https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/02/us/politics/trump-ratcliffe-dni.html
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