FBI Director Comey

The current leader of the FBI said that Comey had not lost the support of the rank and file.

Who says Trump wants to do something based on illegal reasons? The Muslim ban. The directive was to make an illegal muslim ban that looked legal.

In this case, it might be illegal to fire someone who is investigating you. Stating in the firing letter that it is your understanding that you aren't being investigated looks a lot like claiming ignorance and covering your ass, to make it look like you aren't doing something illegal.

Quote: Dalex64

The current leader of the FBI said that Comey had not lost the support of the rank and file.

That does not jive with what was said last fall.

Quote:

Who says Trump wants to do something based on illegal reasons? The Muslim ban. The directive was to make an illegal muslim ban that looked legal.

The muslim ban was not illegal. Federal law gives POTUS authority and there have been bans before. There is no Constitutional right for muslims to enter the USA. A low-level activist judge does not change this.

Quote:

In this case, it might be illegal to fire someone who is investigating you. Stating in the firing letter that it is your understanding that you aren't being investigated looks a lot like claiming ignorance and covering your ass, to make it look like you aren't doing something illegal.

CYA--welcome again to the real world. Sad fact is you have to do this all the time. Yet again, POTUS has the power to remove people from the Executive Branch. It is only when a GOP POTUS does so that the lamestream media goes ape.

The right wing press has been reduced, to paraphrase Sheldon Cooper, to "Blah, blah, blah, hopeless Trump delusions, blah, blah, blah."

So let's count political mistakes that someone completely ignorant of politics would be ashamed of:

1) Acting hastily to sack someone who is investigating your campaign. Even if the blatantly false timeline of events were real, you take some days to at least appear to be considering the implications. You hold at least one meeting with your chief of staff, too. And it wouldn't kill you to at least call a former president or a prominent state governor and ask for advice. You don't just fire the guy after a couple of memos, no matter from whom.

2) Acting hastily to sack someone who is investigating your campaign II. Before firing the guy running the investigation on your campaign, you meet with him in private, without even an aide present, express your concerns, and ask him to resign. The optics are a world of difference if the guy resigns than if you fire him. And if he doesn't resign, you are at least on record as having asked.

3) Lack of choir practice always shows. If you are going to set up an elaborate excuse for doing something stupid, then at least stay on message and make sure everyone on your team tells the same story, and that the story stays the same Thursday as it was Wednesday and as it was on Tuesday. But then if you knew this, you wouldn't admit to real reasons after a few days, would you?

4) Unsubstantiated excuse. If you're going to use something as an excuse, make sure you can substantiate it. In this case, have FBI agents leak to the press they're unhappy, worried, or concerned about the guy at the top of the Bureau. Even if your excuse is a blatant lie, there are always disgruntled agents. You think no soldiers in the Continental Army had complaints about George Washington?

5) Acting hastily to sack someone who is investigating your campaign III. You especially need time for the press to process the leaks from the disgruntled agents. If there is a buzz, even low-key, regarding the guy you want to fire, then firing him won't seem as shocking.

6) The Democrats hate your guts and fervently wish you to die a slow and painful death. That's the reasonable ones, mind you, not those affected with some variant of a derangement syndrome. So get it through your head: there is absolutely NOTHING (repeat NOTHING) you can do they will even mildly disagree with they won't make a BIG EFFING FUSS over. Nothing. Not.ONE.Thing. Even if they wanted to see Comey raked over the coals, and most of them didn't, they didn't want you to touch him even with a rose petal.

7) The Democrats hate your guts and fervently wish you to die a slow and painful death II. The last thing any Democrat wants is to feel any gratitude towards Trump. Even if he does something they want, they'll deny they ever even wanted it (with exceptions for resignation, suicide, or an admission that you begged Putin to help your campaign).

That's just off the top of my head, without having followed the story too closely.

Quote: AZDuffman

That does not jive with what was said last fall.

By who? Rudy Giuliani? lol

I'll take the acting FBI director's word over whoever you are listening to.

Quote: AZDuffman

Ever ask yourself why Comey would be investigating Trump yet did not charge Hillary for allowing a homebrew server to be hacked by the same Russians who supposedly colluded with Trump? She clearly committed a crime, all they have on Trump is liberals said it must have happened.

Huh? That's not "all they have on Trump."

Jeez it's so hard to debate with people who know nothing of what they speak about...

Maybe you should stick to ignoring the political threads again. Wouldn't want you to keep embarrassing yourself.

Quote: ams288

Huh? That's not "all they have on Trump."

Jeez it's so hard to debate with people who know nothing of what they speak about...

Maybe you should stick to ignoring the political threads again. Wouldn't want you to keep embarrassing yourself.

Follow the logic. They did not prosecute Clinton therefore they aren't allowed to investigate anyone, ever again.

It isn't worth the effort.

Sean Spicer won't answer whether Trump is recording conversations in the Oval Office or not (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

Maybe it's starting to make sense why Donald was so convinced Obama wiretapped him....

"I'm doing it.... so he must have done it too!"

Quote: Nareed

The right wing press has been reduced, to paraphrase Sheldon Cooper, to "Blah, blah, blah, hopeless Trump delusions, blah, blah, blah."

So let's count political mistakes that someone completely ignorant of politics would be ashamed of:

1) Acting hastily to sack someone who is investigating your campaign. Even if the blatantly false timeline of events were real, you take some days to at least appear to be considering the implications. You hold at least one meeting with your chief of staff, too. And it wouldn't kill you to at least call a former president or a prominent state governor and ask for advice. You don't just fire the guy after a couple of memos, no matter from whom.

2) Acting hastily to sack someone who is investigating your campaign II. Before firing the guy running the investigation on your campaign, you meet with him in private, without even an aide present, express your concerns, and ask him to resign. The optics are a world of difference if the guy resigns than if you fire him. And if he doesn't resign, you are at least on record as having asked.

3) Lack of choir practice always shows. If you are going to set up an elaborate excuse for doing something stupid, then at least stay on message and make sure everyone on your team tells the same story, and that the story stays the same Thursday as it was Wednesday and as it was on Tuesday. But then if you knew this, you wouldn't admit to real reasons after a few days, would you?

4) Unsubstantiated excuse. If you're going to use something as an excuse, make sure you can substantiate it. In this case, have FBI agents leak to the press they're unhappy, worried, or concerned about the guy at the top of the Bureau. Even if your excuse is a blatant lie, there are always disgruntled agents. You think no soldiers in the Continental Army had complaints about George Washington?

5) Acting hastily to sack someone who is investigating your campaign III. You especially need time for the press to process the leaks from the disgruntled agents. If there is a buzz, even low-key, regarding the guy you want to fire, then firing him won't seem as shocking.

6) The Democrats hate your guts and fervently wish you to die a slow and painful death. That's the reasonable ones, mind you, not those affected with some variant of a derangement syndrome. So get it through your head: there is absolutely NOTHING (repeat NOTHING) you can do they will even mildly disagree with they won't make a BIG EFFING FUSS over. Nothing. Not.ONE.Thing. Even if they wanted to see Comey raked over the coals, and most of them didn't, they didn't want you to touch him even with a rose petal.

7) The Democrats hate your guts and fervently wish you to die a slow and painful death II. The last thing any Democrat wants is to feel any gratitude towards Trump. Even if he does something they want, they'll deny they ever even wanted it (with exceptions for resignation, suicide, or an admission that you begged Putin to help your campaign).

That's just off the top of my head, without having followed the story too closely.

And just in case the enumerated items above did not hit home, why not meet with Henry Kissinger and tweet about taped conversations?

Quote: JimRockford

And just in case the enumerated items above did not hit home, why not meet with Henry Kissinger and tweet about taped conversations?

Because Kissinger's specialty is foreign policy, not domestic politics.

No clue how many presidents, if any, recorded conversations in the White House since Nixon. I'm sure none would admit to doing so, unless they were like incredibly inept politically. Like beyond belief incredibly inept politically.

Oh, wait.

Oh and:

8) Do not meet with the Russians the day after you fired the guy investigating your dealings with the Russians. This should be self-explanatory, but for someone like Golden Boy it might not be so effingly obvious. after all, that's just what he did. So I'll spell it out: it makes it look like you're reporting to the boss.

9) Do not meet with the Russians the day after you fired the guy investigating your dealings with the Russians II. If you do anyway, let all the press into the meeting, not just the Russian press.

10) If you have nothing to hide, then don't insist you've got nothing to hide while refusing to release any relevant documents related to the investigation. Again, so obvious even Donald trump should be able to see it. But it's obvious he doesn't. Is it any wonder the Democrats hate his guts and want to see him die a horrible, painful death?

And the extra:

11) When "your" party controls the White House and both houses of Congress, every executive order you sign signifies epic failure.