FBI Director James Comey decided last Friday to drop an unethical and possibly illegal bombshell one week before we elect the President of the United States.
As if we haven't heard enough about Hillary Clinton's emails, he suddenly announced that the FBI had found more of them on - wait for it - Anthony Weiner's computer. Yes, "Carlos Danger" had some of Hillary's emails on a computer he shared with his estranged wife, Huma Abedin, an assistant to Clinton.
Why was it necessary to announce this? Were these emails illegal or relevant in any way? Well, that's funny - the FBI didn't even have a search warrant for them until yesterday.
Is Comey trying to help Trump get elected? Everyone believed Hillary was cleared of wrongdoing in the email scandal last summer - by James Comey - and he was praised at the time for being "non-partisan" in his investigation. So what is he now? Um . . . he's in deep manure. Even Republicans are calling for his resignation and Harry Reid says that he has broken the law.
And even worse - Comey is said to have avoided making announcements about the FBI looking into Trump's ties with Putin and Russian banks because he didn't want to influence the election. Well, uh, why only make announcements about one side if you are a non-partisan public official???!!!
From NPR
...Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid says Comey may have violated a law known as the Hatch Act by making the investigation public this late in the election season. In a letter to Comey, Reid said the move revealed a "clear double standard" and accused Comey of using his position as FBI director to influence the election.
To further his claim of a double standard, Reid also accused Comey of sitting on evidence of ties between the Trump campaign and the Russian government."In tarring Secretary Clinton with thin innuendo, you overruled longstanding tradition and the explicit guidance of your own Department. You rushed to take this step eleven days before a presidential election, despite the fact that for all you know, the information you possess could be entirely duplicative of the information you already examined which exonerated Secretary Clinton."
The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from using their official authority or influence to affect the result of an election.
From Charles Blow on The New York Times
On Friday, the F.B.I. director, James Comey, took the outrageous and unprecedented step of sending a letter to Congress announcing that the bureau has “learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent” to the inquiry into Clinton’s personal email server that apparently had been uncovered as part of an Anthony Weiner sexting investigation.
. . . In a letter to F.B.I. employees, he pointed out that “of course, we don’t ordinarily tell Congress about ongoing investigations,” but feebly tried to explain that he was doing so this time, at this crucial moment, so as not to mislead the American people and to “supplement the record.” Then he wrote: “At the same time, however, given that we don’t know the significance of this newly discovered collection of emails, I don’t want to create a misleading impression. In trying to strike that balance, in a brief letter and in the middle of an election season, there is significant risk of being misunderstood, but I wanted you to hear directly from me about it.”
“Risk of being misunderstood” is one of the most appalling understatements of this presidential cycle. Comey clearly knew that his ill-advised actions could implicate Clinton by insinuation and he proceeded anyway, presenting his vague letter as an act of valor when in fact it was an act of vacuity. The irony here is that the man who blasted Clinton for being “extremely careless” for her use of a private email server was himself “extremely careless” for inserting himself and his agency into an election with that letter.
"Donald Trump still hasn't released his tax returns, 12 women have accused him of sexual assault, and he's going on trial for fraud for Trump University in November. But now, the only thing the media is talking about is emails. It's like during the O.J. Trial if everyone was focused on whether or not the Ford Bronco had up-to-date registration."
~~ Comedian Seth Meyers on Late Night
Every current/former Dept. of Justice official I speak 2, GOP or Dem, says Comey must resign/be fired 4 election interference. All outraged.— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) October 30, 2016
One thing is clear: the F.B.I. director destroyed his own reputation, writes @paulkrugman https://t.co/NNSeooDnKn pic.twitter.com/Ku5BPtSVle
— NYT Opinion (@nytopinion) November 1, 2016
Looks like someone got to Comey.
— Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) October 31, 2016
Investigation of Comey for ethics violations and Hatch Act violations have been opened. Ethics complaint also filed against Jason Chaffetz https://t.co/WBPqPC9c9F— NastyWoman4Hillary (@BJHare) November 1, 2016
House Ethics Complaint Filed Against @JasonInTheHouse Chaffetz For Role In Comey Announcement pic.twitter.com/fRyRAnjr41— RiskyLiberal (@RiskyLiberal) November 1, 2016
Comey shouts Fire in a theater without saying which theater + without fire. But he'll say nothing of Trump + Russia pic.twitter.com/yOOvnKC54T
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) November 1, 2016
Robby Mook, Clinton's campaign manager, says Comey's statements are "not the hallmarks of a responsible investigation."— Dan Merica (@danmericaCNN) October 31, 2016
James Carville: ‘Call it what it is’ Comey and the GOP are ‘trying to hijack the election!’ https://t.co/rkbxTrQJGw pic.twitter.com/hrF9YkibHL— Raw Story (@RawStory) November 1, 2016
“Tonight, I’m dressed as the spookiest October surprise: FBI Director James Comey” #LSSC pic.twitter.com/xn6gUyDmBY— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) November 1, 2016
