Yes, Comey's testimony was a turning point: Consider the reaction from Trump and the GOP
TUESDAY, MAR 21, 2017 08:20 AM EDT
Yes, Comey’s testimony was a turning point: Consider the reaction from Trump and the GOP
Nothing the FBI director said was all that explosive — but he left the White House and Republicans reeling
HEATHER DIGBY PARTON
On MSNBC’s Monday edition of “Hardball,” Washington Post columnist David Ignatius claimed that the House Intelligence Committee hearing with FBI Director James Comey and the NSA’s director, Michael Rogers, was “a turning point” in the growing “Russia” scandal. During the hearing I wouldn’t have thought so.
Not that the testimony wasn’t dramatic. It was. Director Comey categorically denied that there was any evidence of President Donald Trump’s inane accusation that former President Barack Obama had ordered Trump Tower to be wiretapped and he confirmed there is an ongoing investigation of possible “coordination” between Trump associates and Russian government players concerning interference with the U.S. presidential election campaign.
But it’s not as if there hadn’t been extensive reporting about all of this already. This was no smoking gun. The hearing was significant in that it was the first time anyone in the government has publicly acknowledged the investigation, which means that the calls for a special prosecutor and a bipartisan commission take on new urgency. Despite the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, this issue is too critical, and the Trump administration is too lacking in credibility to be allowed to investigate itself. Comey may have struck an independent note in the hearing but his reputation related to the election is so tainted by his previous behavior that no matter what comes of the investigation, half the country won’t believe it. And no one will trust the senior members of Sessions’ Justice Department to make a fair decision about whether to prosecute.
But it wasn’t the testimony itself that created the impression that something important had shifted. It was the over-the-top reaction. According to Politico, the White House was “knocked on its heels” and “scrambling to contain the fallout.” Perhaps administration officials expected their buddy Comey to come through for them once again, but it appears he’s only willing to take so many bullets on Donald Trump’s behalf. (Admitting during the hearing that the probe had begun in July, as Comey was ostentatiously proclaiming Hillary Clinton “reckless” for what turned out to be nothing, may have made him feel slightly chagrined.)
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http://www.salon.com/2017/03/21/yes-comeys-testimony-was-a-turning-point-consider-the-reaction-from-trump-and-the-gop/