Friday, August 30, 2019

The Sanctimony Bulk Pack

James Comey is a tall man and his self-regard towers over even his expansive height. Jonathan Turley reminds us of a few things:
The inspector general has confirmed what was clear and obvious. The memos were FBI material, and Comey did violate provisions of the Federal Records Act and FBI rules clearly barring their removal and disclosure. Moreover, the inspector general agreed that it was not necessary to guarantee an investigation into Trump. Investigations were ongoing and the report cites other “options” that Comey refused to use. The report concludes, “What was not permitted was the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive investigative information, obtained during the course of FBI employment, in order to achieve a personally desired outcome.”

The reason Comey violated these rules was as obvious then as it is now. Leaking the memos was designed to improve his stature in the media and it worked. Comey transformed himself into a badly needed hero to use against the villain Trump. He knew the memos would change the focus of media coverage to his new role as a federal government whistleblower.
No one owes James Comey an apology.

1 comment:

John said...

Agree, Comey's value to the left rose impressively, despite the claims by HRC that he was singularly responsible for her loss, once he began portraying himself as the moral conscience of the deep state and perhaps the nation. He tweets following the release of the IG report reflect that self-view. Since he wasn't indicted he must have done no wrong and everyone who says he did owes him an apology. Of course, he focuses on secret material and the IG covered the whole range from work papers classified FOUO, up to secret, as well as his failures as an "original classification authority."