If I were still a Democrat and I listened to Comey’s interview yesterday with Chris Wallace, what would I think?
I plan to fisk James Comey’s interview with Chris Wallace later today or perhaps tomorrow, but right now I want to say something else about it.
I couldn’t actually watch Comey or listen to the whole interview. That’s probably a subset of the fact that I generally prefer to read transcripts rather than watch/listen to such things, simply to save time as well as the better to ponder certain statements. And in this case I did read the whole thing. I like to watch some excerpts, though, in order to get a sense of affect and demeanor, which can be very important. So I watched some of Comey’s interview, too, although I feel a sense of revulsion when I watch him.
Certain people do that to me. It doesn’t always conform to whether they’re on “my side” politically or not – for example, John Kerry made my flesh crawl even way back in the 70s, when I was a Democrat. And so when I watched Comey I wondered what I would think of him and his interview if I were still a Democrat. Would his oozing self-righteous fake-humble arrogance still strike me that way? Would it seem as though he was lying through his teeth with every word, including “and” and “the”?
I can’t know for sure, but I believe I would still be mortified, embarrassed, and angry that I was lied to by this self-serving shifty buck-passing liar. I wonder how many Democrats feel that way, though.
Of course, a person has to know some facts about the FBI investigation in question, as well as Comey’s previous claims, to see where he’s lying and how much he’s lying. I don’t know how many people follow such things, but my guess is that the majority follow them at least somewhat. I also don’t think people generally like buck-passing from the head of an organization such as the FBI, and that’s what Comey attempted to do over and over in that interview.
Comey makes me think of Iago:
Iago is one of Shakespeare’s most sinister villains, often considered such because of the unique trust that Othello places in him, which he betrays while maintaining his reputation for honesty and dedication…
Iago is a Machiavellian schemer and manipulator, as he is often referred to as “honest Iago”, displaying his skill at deceiving other characters so that not only do they not suspect him, but they count on him as the person most likely to be truthful.
Shakespearean critic A. C. Bradley said that “evil has nowhere else been portrayed with such mastery as in the evil character of Iago”…
Bradley writes that Iago “illustrates in the most perfect combination the two facts concerning evil, which seem to have impressed Shakespeare the most”, the first being that “the fact that perfectly sane people exist in whom fellow-feeling of any kind is so weak that an almost absolute egoism becomes possible to them”, with the second being “that such evil is compatible, and even appears to ally itself easily, with exceptional powers of will and intellect”.
You may disagree that Comey has “exceptional intellect,” but he’s certainly an intelligent man, and a willful one.
Comey is smug and smarmy so there is reason to dislike him even if you disagree with his politics. Now, I know a few Republicans like that too, but it does seem like a lot on the left is that way.
Think how Bill Barr is looking forward to watching his investigators sweat this prick. It’s going to be sweet.
“Iago is one of Shakespeare’s most sinister villains, often considered such because of the unique trust that Othello places in him, which he betrays while maintaining his reputation for honesty and dedication…”
Reminds me of John Dean, President Nixon’s lawyer. I thought it was hilarious When the democrats had John Dean testify against President Trump. John Dean was up to his eyeballs in the Watergate burglary and was looking at jail time and disbarment but nothing happened to him after he joined the democrat’s coup against Nixon. Hopefully, something bad will happen to Comey.
The Dems whose thinking is dominated by the Group-think won’t be phased by it. It doesn’t fit the narrative and therefore it will be ignored and forgotten.
But, for those who are not so fanatical… yeah, I’d be pissed off. But the number of independent thinkers are few. So, will it make a difference? For now, I would say no.
However, if it is used properly in the next election, it could be devastating.
Yes. Villains in our midst.
Schiff: A vicious, mendacious swine.
Comey: The OED illustration for sanctimony.
The ghouls and goblins are circling the wagons. Bitter hostilities ahead.
I saw bits of the Comey interview. I was happy to see Chris Wallace pressing him. Comey’s attitude and actual words were nauseating. And then, Schiff!!
The Declaration of Independence ends with ” We Pledge To Each Other Our Lives, Our Fortunes And Our Sacred Honor.”
Sacred. As in “A man’s word is his bond.”
What is honor today? It is a hollow word. It means nothing to the Elites, who are honorless worms. But it and its ranking above Lives and Fortunes survives in the land of the Deplorables, and in the Marine Corps. Semper fidelis. Always faithful.
They can’t think, they are brain dead
Judge Sullivan has denied Sidney Powell’s demand to compel Brady material production in the Flynn case, sets sentencing for Jan 28.
Cicero:
When I was thinking about Comey in connection with that interview, the idea came to mind that he had no concept of honor nor of responsibility.
Of all the players in the conspiracy to dethrone djt, the one I most want to see behind bars is Comey. I find his attitude contemptible. 20 years without parole in a maximum security federal prison seems correct to me.
I don’t think you can know what a Trump-hater would think because they’re not thinking. Their egos were badly wounded when they turned out to be wrong about the 2016 election. And I think it’s important to make that distinction. They’re not upset about Trump winning. They’re upset because they were wrong about him winning. Salt was then poured on the wound to their egos when they were proven wrong again about Russian collusion.
These are people in pain and they’re lashing out without thinking. Their entire sense of self as The Smart People Who Run The World has been shattered.
Mike
Mike
Here is one of the most important investigations in our history, a presidential candidate’s entourage and perhaps the candidate himself is possibly targeted by a hostile foreign power, and, according to Comey, he keeps a rather standoffish managerial handling in his dealings with it.
His personal style is by the book, unbiased integrity and he imagines his underlings would be the same but he really doesn’t follow up to determine if what they are presenting to him is accurate.
The 17 major errors are simply mistakes, just things that happen in really important investigations, not indicative of any bias. The fact that all of the errors were against the Trump campaign’s interests is really happenstance, nothing requiring his falling onto his sword and resigning over.
Comey’s book, “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership,” on how he relies more on a “higher loyalty” to lasting values such as justice and truth, is certainly more indicative of his life and career than some insignificant missteps in a major investigation.
Hypocrite is not a strong enough word to describe James Comey. Prison is where he belongs. Truly he is one of the coup leaders who believe they are better than the president and the voters who elected Trump.
If the Dems, media and deep state had waited to see what would happen in Trump’s administration, perhaps something would have happened that would have changed his support. Instead, by their antics, threats of impeachment even before he was sworn in, fake news and outright insubordination, they galvanized his supporters against them. They are directly the cause of Trump’s rise.
Of all the players in the conspiracy to dethrone djt, the one I most want to see behind bars is Comey. I find his attitude contemptible. 20 years without parole in a maximum security federal prison seems correct to me.
Comey reminds me of Gen. v. Seidlitz-Gabler in Night of the Generals (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062038/). Straddling and maneuvering all through the plot to avoid being held accountable no matter who ends up on top.
I suspect the major bad actors in re that portion of the story here were Sztrok / Page, McCabe, Clinesmith, ‘Special agent 1’, Brennan, Clapper, Rosenstein, Yates, and Weissmann. Mueller is dotty enough that he hardly knows whether he’s coming or going and Comey played the angles the whole time. In chapter three, proteges of Brennan and Clapper conjoined to career Foreign Service and the odious Adam Schiff were the bad actors.
eeyore has it 100% correct.
The Dem’s have, somehow, managed to turn President Trump into a sympathetic figure. Those of us who came to support him understood – and forgave – any of his human flaws back in 2016.
Now those who might have been unsure will, hopefully, come to support him. I hope we’re seeing the start of a preference cascade.
1. Have you noticed how much Comey looks like a weasel?
2. I think we are getting a preview of the Durham report. Based on what I saw yesterday, Comey has left no fingerprints, no documents, no witnesses to any involvement by him in this whole fiasco. No meetings, no briefings, no telephone messages, no texts. He left it all to his subordinates, and they never told him anything. It was all McCabe and Strzok and those other people, and he, Comey, is shocked to hear what they did. He assumed that they were doing everything by the book. There are probably memos in the file telling them to do everything by the book. The FBI director just didn’t have time to ride herd on an investigation of four persons who had been involved in the Trump campaign. It’s a shame if they let it get out of hand, but that Steele dossier was terrible. He was just trying to protect Trump, actually.
3. If Trump and Barr have a falling out, it will be because Barr has to tell Trump that there isn’t enough evidence to prosecute Comey. Trump will say, let’s give it a go anyway, just to mess Comey up. Barr will either resign or get fired, and then keep his thoughts to himself.
But maybe I’m wrong.
I’m still puzzled at the claims there will be a “Durham report”. Prosecutors indict people. They don’t make reports. They fuck up lives, take liberties away, put people in prison, seize property in fines and so on.
Despicable hardly suffices.
I wish that I were more optimistic that Comey will receive justice; but, it seems to be so hard to bring it to people at his level. There are plenty of examples. Of the cabal of Brennan, Clapper, McCabe, Mueller, and yes Schiff, I think I detest Comey the most. Mueller and McCabe are close, because they also had direct power over other people, and used it ruthlessly in violation of the public trust. Comey is always first because of his superciliousness on top of everything else.
(I threw Schiff into the mire with the rest of the swine because he deserves to be, although he is in a somewhat different league since he cannot go after vulnerable folks directly. In taking on Trump, he is fighting above his class; and looks the fool, even if there are no other consequences.)
Comey reminds me of two officers I served with in the Navy.(Yes, in 21 years of service I only encountered two.) They were ambitious, always testing the wind to find ways to advance their power/position. They were attuned to the needs and desires of those above them, looking for ways to please them. They were heartless when it came to dealing with their peers or subordinates who might be in their way or didn’t agree with them. They dodged responsibility for errors by blaming those below them. They often used their position to profit themselves in personal ways. (Special flights to pick up booze, collectibles, or tax free goodies. All barely legal under Navy regs.) They often ignored proper procedures if it meant an advantage for themselves. They expected others to go along and get along. In other words, they were a lot like James Comey and many of the people who rose to prominence in alphabet agencies and the military during the Obama administration.
The contrast between Comey, the outraged former Director of the FBI, as he savaged Trump for two years, and the now , “misteaks wer made” by his subordinates Comey, is telling. He still thinks he can talk his way out of this. He may not go to jail, but his name and legacy are now excrement. Sorry, James, you disgraced yourself and your office. Live with it.
“I can’t know for sure, but I believe I would still be mortified, embarrassed, and angry that I was lied to by this self-serving shifty buck-passing liar. I wonder how many Democrats feel that way, though.
Of course, a person has to know some facts about the FBI investigation in question, as well as Comey’s previous claims, to see where he’s lying and how much he’s lying.” – Neo
Substitue “Obama” for “Comey” in this excerpt and much of the post.
That’s how I feel about our former President.
He sounded just fine to people who didn’t know that he was and had been lying, because they only get their news from the MSM, and they don’t even get all of that.
Even some (most?) Congress representatives (especially if not in the interrogation committees) don’t know (and don’t understand) all of the facts & laws involved in the impeachment circus.
Sorry. Any report Dirham makes will be to Barr. Barr will then decide in consultation with senior DOJ people any next steps.
Comey is tall, 6 foot eight inches and by tradition tall guys have a way of advancing in leadership positions. To the best of my recollection in a Personnel Management class I took in 1970 there was a Wall Street Journal story we discussed that a professor wrote after he had attended a seminar which included all sorts of corporate leaders here in the United States and the common denominator he noted was height. He did a follow up on his observation and found that height more than grades in college and IQ had been effective in those, at that time men, advancing in their careers.
Comey is a self centered, swarmy, tall S.O.B. who made his way to the top and Danny Coulson who was an FBI agent wrote the book ‘No Heros’ twenty years ago and in the book he said there were two types of FBI agents, field agents who did the actual work and desk agents who dedicated themselves to avoiding responsibility for anything that went wrong and taking credit for things that went right and advanced themselves by throwing others under the bus and at that time the worst ones according to Coulson liked to wear nice suits and suspenders.
There is not telling how much damage Comey has done by doing others in as he advanced himself and in October of 2016 he was trying to do a two-step showing his independence from the woman he thought would be the new president since there was no way in hell Trump could win. He was gaming with Clinton when he made his dumb ass comments that ended up allowing him to take some of the blame for her loss when she should have been thrown out of the pool when all of her misdeeds became public knowledge.
We are in for a dog fight in the coming weeks in the senate and at least by now it appears the GOP is actually getting behind our president who has brought us to the most prosperous economy, perhaps in the history of the USA including minority folks and their better employment.
On one of the other threads, I speculated as to whether the lack of a procedural requirement to notify upper management of the FBI if a proposed investigation would involve a candidate’s compaign or an elected President, and decided that it was a deliberate omission so that the leadership could maintain plausible deniability (for some definition of plausible).
Let’s go to the transcript, Candy.
https://www.foxnews.com/transcript/james-comey-pam-bondi-and-rep-adam-schiff-talk-fisa-report-impeachment-on-fox-news-sunday
Notice the subtle change from exercising directorial oversight to make sure there were no sloppy mistakes to knowing all the particular details, and from formal approval of an investigation’s major aspects, to running the investigation.
Bottom line: despite the “who me?” excuses, Comey’s name was still on the bottom line — whether he knew the particular details of what went into the FISA applications or not, he certified to the court that they were accurate.
Notice again the subtle reframing he does in the middle excerpt below: 4 of Trump’s associates, who were connected at some point with the campaign, were investigated, but the campaign was not investigated. He is assuming, probably correctly, that most listeners do not know of the two-hop rule, or any of the other incriminating details familiar to us political junkies.
Whatever Comey didn’t know, he chose not to know.
. John Dean was up to his eyeballs in the Watergate burglary and was looking at jail time and disbarment but nothing happened to him after he joined the democrat’s coup against Nixon. Hopefully, something bad will happen to Comey.
he ordered it to protect his call-girl since and got away with it
call girl fiancé
Something odd and out of whack with Comey. Indeed he has all the character flaws commentators have alluded to but something else. He may be intelligent but he does not process things mentally like a normal person. Its like he acts out his thoughts whereas a normal person holds on to those and doles them out as the situation requires. He s definately ingratiating, using a questioners name to curry favor & makes pleading faces for sympathy
It always shocked me that he and his confederates found Trump lacking morals to be president but yet had no qualms about their behavior nor were they critical of Peter Strozk cheating on his wife ( I believe Lisa Page may have been his second co adulterer, seems i read that somewhere but i could be wrong) anyway Trump’s morals a problem, Strozk & Page OK. I guess Trumps foibles were wife cheating.
Katie Pavlich for the win here.
Nice summation of the interview here, by Miranda Devine.
https://nypost.com/2019/12/15/james-comey-is-eerily-skilled-at-selling-delusions-devine/
If they pass the buck down far enough, we will discover that the whole thing was the fault of the night janitor.
Maybe it’s not just us political junkies who are following the actual factual news.
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/12/voters-fbi-leaders-broke-law-send-them-to-jail.php
Vive le blogosphere!
This statement from the interview was mentioned by a commenter at CTH (IIRC), with the reaction: “oh????”
Great post, Neo! Don’t watch much TV but agree with all the contempt directed at Comey here. This whole cabal could be a movie, if a movie had 12 villains.
Saw Strzok’s testimony on YouTube and he is another piece of work!
When their rulers are wicked, the people groan.
Cross-posting a relevant comment, if Comey is a representative of the Left aka Democrats in power:
https://www.thenewneo.com/2019/12/13/what-will-the-british-left-learn-from-the-uk-election/#comment-2470656
Sergey on December 14, 2019 at 3:43 pm said:
They will never learn anything. The zealots of the post-modern Left have a limitless capacity to ignore reality even when it’s staring them in the face.
Mustn’t lose sight of the fact that Comey is but one link in the chain.
A very long criminal chain that goes to the very top.
It would be extremely convenient for a whole lot of them if one, possibly two would be able—or be forced to—take the fall.
Right now the focus is on Comey; but they’ve all got to be worried…and trying mightily to figure out how to escape scrutiny—and justice.
(“Maybe Comey will be the one to take the fall and save the rest of us…”?)
Don’t think Barr and Durham are going to let them get away with it, though, but that may just be wishful thinking….
Hope they’re stewing and sweating and squirming.
And soul searching (heh, just kidding!)
“Maybe it’s not just us political junkies who are following the actual factual news.”
My wife is a moderate, middle of the road, independent. She follows the news and reads different sources. She often chastises me for my “over the top pronouncements”. i.e. I can get a feel for what the middle is thinking from her. A few days ago she stunned me with a statement tinged with some anger: “They’ve turned the FBI back into what it was under J Edgar Hoover! I thought we were done with that!”
A typical Dem would be reminded but their media reminders that Comey is (was?) a Republican and that this is typical Republican behavior. Look what he did to Hillary!!
“If I were…a Democrat…what would I think?”
Here’s one perturbing article that says you’d very likely be thinking about the next move:
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/impeachment-moves-to-senate-get-ready-for-a-scramble-and-a-january-surprise
H/T Powerline blog
So I guess the real question is, “What kind of Democratic?”
The whole Trump Russian Hoax was Comey & Obama doing CYA for their obstruction of justice
in not indicting the guilty Sec. of State Clinton, for the illegal server she used.
Because it was more convenient.
Probably to get more and higher bribes in her pay-to-play Clinton (Bribery) Foundation, where those who wanted favors would “donate” so as to get them. Legal bribery, not so different from Burisma bribing the Bidens.
In order to Lock Her Up, as she deserved, and Comey knew she deserved, a real investigation would have to take place. Which would find the evidence of his crimes of covering up HER crimes, including bribery.
Comey knew, tho perhaps not each criminal action, since there were so many, and he approved. McCabe was mostly bootlicking and doing Comey’s & Obama’s dirty work.
Oh yeah, Obama knew, and approved, but there won’t be evidence to prove that.
No excitement without indictments — tho if the normal US middle class who are not political junkies start getting laughed at for being fooled by the lying Dems, they will probably be angry enough to vote for a Rep.
Wouldn’t that be nice?
Comey’s interview and his (weasly, sort of ) taking some responsibility for his CRIMINAL actions, will not move one nano-millimeter (which is much much smaller than a nano-meter) the opinions/views of demokrats.
Demokrats, like their colleagues in the socialist, communist (and it’s first cousin, the National SOCIALIST Party) party, believe the ends justifies the means , and if they have been lied to, well, no problemo; it was for a good cause.
If you think I am wrong, check out how the mainstream media (i.e., the propaganda arm of the demokrat party) is STILL reporting the “news” and re-stating the same lies they have been since November 2016.
Demokrats ONLY care about achieving absolute power and that those with differing political views are destroyed.
They are just fine using any and all means towards that goal.
They do not care about the Constitution and it’s totally clear they hate everything about the USA.
“…but there won’t be evidence to prove that….”
Maybe…or maybe not:
https://www.cnsnews.com/blog/michael-w-chapman/clapper-2016-election-scandal-we-did-what-we-were-told-do-president-obama
John Tyler, That’s a picometer dude.
I see what you are describing with the climate change propaganda too. As the evidence of climate crisis gets thinner, they are increasing the propaganda and hysteria to compensate. There is a multi-trillion dollar prize, globally, that they are after.
Amadeus 48, I do not think it is correct that Dunham’s report will simply go to Barr. As a U.S. Attorney he has the power to bring charges. There could be some issue as to venue if the offenses occurred outside of his jurisdiction; but, then, again the crimes that he is investigating had impact across state lines.
Maybe lawyers on the forum will clarify.
Enjoyed the comments about Comey. Interesting, if Wallace did not ask him if it was his habit to sign legal documents that carried the weight of a FISA warrant, without doing due diligence. I don’t think that “I didn’t know what I was signing” will be an adequate defense if it ever–let us hope– comes to trial.
I was about to put up some posts today when the power went out because of a storm. So it probably won’t be until late afternoon or early evening before I can post. Frustrating.
Writing this comment from a phone, with limited juice…
Democratic true believers do not watch Chris Wallace interviews, because cooties. Instead they hyperventilate about how much golf Trump plays. And god forbid you ask “is golf a problem?” to never golfers. Who knew?
Regarding Comey, Mueller, (maybe Clapper, others) being described as Republicans: this is merely a ploy these types use to get *appointments* when the administration in power is Republican. They wanted the jobs when Bush 2 was there presto freshly minted Republican. Comey from NY wanted the job when Guliani was around, ditch the donkey haul out the elephant.
I’ll have to agree with Matthew that Comey is smug and smarmy, and I would like to see him prosecuted. It strikes me that he is either responsible or irresponsible. I guess the latter is a defense of sorts, and it might keep him out of jail, but I would hope it would keep him off the air at CNN and MSNBC too. Well I can dream. . .
Meanwhile, if Susan Rice, Samantha Power and Hillary’s close aides Huma Abadin, and Cheryl Mills (as well as “fixer” Sid Blumenthahl don’t go to trial, I’ll be mightily disappointed. They blithely ignored a lot of laws regarding illegal unmasking and security classification markings. They really should spend some time in Leavenworth.
Shem Horne thread: ***NEW: Letter from President Trump to Speaker Pelosi regarding impeachment:
“I write to express my strongest and most powerful protest against the partisan impeachment crusade being pursued by the Democrats in the House of Representatives.” ***
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1207018787087814656.html
Neo on December 17, 2019 at 12:44 pm said:
I was about to put up some posts today when the power went out because of a storm. So it probably won’t be until late afternoon or early evening before I can post. Frustrating.
* * *
It’s the Democrat witches out to make you stop posting!
They control climate change, after all.