Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
David Corn: Trump Goes Full Watergate -- and Threatens Russia Investigation
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/05/donald-trump-james-comey-firing-watergate-russiaSo what changed? Judging from his tweets, Trump seems to feel threatened by the ongoing Russia investigations, which have not faded. On Monday, a Senate hearing revealed that Trump's White House did not quickly act in response to a warning that national security adviser Michael Flynn had lied about his conversations with the Russian ambassador and that Flynn was vulnerable to Russian blackmail. Testimony also showed that US intelligence had obtained information in late 2015 on interactions between Trump associates and known or suspected Russian agents. During that hearing, Rep. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) asked about Trump's business ties to Russia, and former director of national intelligence James Clapper gave an answer that suggested US intelligence had looked into this. Hours after this hearing, Trump sent out a series of false tweets calling the Russia story a hoax and claiming (inaccurately) that Clapper had said there was no collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia. The president was protesting too much.
Trump's decision to terminate Comey cannot be separated from the Russia investigation. After all, his political and business associates were being probed by Comey. And there's no telling how this move will affect this investigation. "FBI agents value their integrity more than anything and if nothing else, this is a challenge to the integrity of whatever investigation Trump is trying to stifle," David Gomez, a former FBI agent tells Mother Jones.
After this brazen move, several Democrats tied it to the Russia investigation. Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democratic member of the Senate intelligence committee, tweeted, "Director Comey should be immediately called to testify in an open hearing about the status of the investigation into Russia and Trump associates at the time he was fired." Sen. Mark Warner, the senior Democrat on the committee, issued this statement: "The administration insists there's no 'there there,' yet President Trump has so far fired the acting Attorney General, nearly every U.S. attorney, and now the Director of the FBI. In addition, this President's choice for Attorney General has been forced to recuse himself, and the National Security Advisor has resigned, as a result of undisclosed contacts with Russian officials. Now more than ever, it is vital that our ongoing investigation is completed in a credible and bipartisan way. We also need to hear directly from former Director Comey about the FBI investigation and related events." And Sen. Chuck Schumer called for the appointment of a special prosecutor, noting that if Rosenstein does not appoint such an investigator, Americans will suspect "a cover-up."
Trump now gets to appoint the next FBI director. How can anyone he places in this job be trusted to manage these sensitive Russia-related inquiries that may lead to Trump's doorstep? Comey has been attacked by both Democrats and Republicans at different points. He had few political supporters in Washington. But Comey was independent of the White House and Sessions' Justice Department. That gave him space to oversee the critical Trump-Russia inquiries. Trump has now obliterated that space and independence. That's big trouble. And this is a crisis.
Trump's decision to terminate Comey cannot be separated from the Russia investigation. After all, his political and business associates were being probed by Comey. And there's no telling how this move will affect this investigation. "FBI agents value their integrity more than anything and if nothing else, this is a challenge to the integrity of whatever investigation Trump is trying to stifle," David Gomez, a former FBI agent tells Mother Jones.
After this brazen move, several Democrats tied it to the Russia investigation. Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democratic member of the Senate intelligence committee, tweeted, "Director Comey should be immediately called to testify in an open hearing about the status of the investigation into Russia and Trump associates at the time he was fired." Sen. Mark Warner, the senior Democrat on the committee, issued this statement: "The administration insists there's no 'there there,' yet President Trump has so far fired the acting Attorney General, nearly every U.S. attorney, and now the Director of the FBI. In addition, this President's choice for Attorney General has been forced to recuse himself, and the National Security Advisor has resigned, as a result of undisclosed contacts with Russian officials. Now more than ever, it is vital that our ongoing investigation is completed in a credible and bipartisan way. We also need to hear directly from former Director Comey about the FBI investigation and related events." And Sen. Chuck Schumer called for the appointment of a special prosecutor, noting that if Rosenstein does not appoint such an investigator, Americans will suspect "a cover-up."
Trump now gets to appoint the next FBI director. How can anyone he places in this job be trusted to manage these sensitive Russia-related inquiries that may lead to Trump's doorstep? Comey has been attacked by both Democrats and Republicans at different points. He had few political supporters in Washington. But Comey was independent of the White House and Sessions' Justice Department. That gave him space to oversee the critical Trump-Russia inquiries. Trump has now obliterated that space and independence. That's big trouble. And this is a crisis.