Outrage grows in Washington about FBI Director James Comey’s unusual announcement of a renewed investigation of emails on Anthony Weiner’s computer, says the Washington Post.
“On Monday, criticism of Comey continued to mount, notably from prominent former law enforcement officials. Democrats and Republicans alike on Capitol Hill amplified their demands that Comey and Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch provide a more detailed account of the investigation into the emails, which were found on a computer belonging to former congressman Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) earlier this fall….
“Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote Comey Monday saying that the disclosure provided to Congress last week “did not go far enough” and was unfair to Congress, the American people and Clinton.
“In the absence of additional, authoritative information from the FBI in the wake of your vague disclosure, Congress and the American people are left to sift through anonymous leaks from Justice Department officials to the press of varying levels of detail, reliability, and consistency,” Grassley wrote. “The American people deserve better than that.
” The senator asked Comey to answer by Nov. 4 a series of questions about the discovery of the emails and what the FBI has learned about their contents. Grassley’s request adds to the increasing pressure on Comey to release more details and clarify his letter to Congress. A bipartisan group of about 100 former federal prosecutors and senior Justice Department officials have also called on Comey to release more information.
“We do not question Director Comey’s motives,” wrote the group, which included President Obama’s former attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr., and former deputy attorney general Larry Thompson, who served under President George W. Bush.
“However, the fact remains that the Director’s disclosure has invited considerable, uninformed public speculation about the significance of newly-discovered material just days before a national election,” the group wrote. “For this reason, we believe the American people deserve all the facts, and fairness dictates releasing information that provides a full and complete picture regarding the material at issue.”
Comey set off a firestorm Friday by telling the chairmen of eight congressional committees that the FBI would take “appropriate investigative steps” to determine whether newly discovered emails found in an unrelated investigation contain classified information and to assess whether they are relevant to the investigation involving Clinton’s private email server. The unrelated case was an investigation of Weiner, who is accused of having explicit exchanges with a 15-year-old girl. Weiner is the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin.
Justice officials have said that before Comey notified Congress, they warned him that doing so would go against long-standing practices of the department not to comment on ongoing investigations and not to take steps that could be viewed as influencing an election.
“However, officials familiar with Comey’s decision said that he felt a sense of obligation to lawmakers to “supplement” his testimony under oath in July that the Clinton investigation was complete and there would be no charges. Comey was also concerned that word of the new email discovery would leak to the media and raise questions of a coverup, the officials said. Comey’s disclosure about the Clinton probe is particularly striking, some U.S. officials said, because he had advised against the administration publicly accusing Russia of trying to meddle in the 2016 election because it would seem too political too close to Election Day. Comey eventually supported the administration’s Oct. 7 denunciation, which alluded to hacks of Democratic Party organizations, as long as it did not have the FBI’s name on it, officials said. His desire to keep the FBI out of the announcement stemmed from several concerns, including a wish not to appear biased as the bureau conducted a probe into Russian hacking, they said. Comey’s position was first reported by CNBC.”
Donald Trump announced on the campaign trail that the FBI re-opened the investigation because they knew the emails demonstrated that Clinton had engaged in very serious criminal activity. He added that Clinton was so corrupt that she could not possibly be a role model for the nation’s children.
Trump has dragged Clinton through the mud so often that he hopes some of the mud sticks. His comment about a “role model” reflects Trump’s love of calling his opponent whatever he is called. With his long record of lies, fraud, and boasting, as well as his bragging about sexually assaulting women, no one would call him a role model.
The vague nature of Comey’s pronouncement allows each person who hears it to interpret it exactly as they see fit. It’s just stirring the pot without adding any substance, & as such is highly irresponsible. Reminds me of Trump’s “announcement of an announcement,” where he advised he was going to make a huge proclamation, got all the news cameras gathered around, did an hour-long infomercial, which ended with a 1-minute revelation that he’d decided that Obama was, in fact, born in the U.S., which had been established unquestionably 5 years before. What is Comey’s point in announcing that he might at some point have something to announce, but then again, maybe not?
Obama seems to have no problems with Comey. Is Obama working for the Russians?
Even a broken clock like Trump is right once in a while. Hillary is a terrible role model for children. I question the judgment and morals of anyone who thinks Hillary Clinton is what kids should aspire to be. If I ever have a child of my own, Hillary can be a great example of how not to gain and utilize power as a public servant.
The problem is that you will go to any length to defend Hillary against Trump, and that is leading you astray of the truth in this election process. Even if Comey did the right thing, you’d roll with the Democratic rhetoric.
Ed,
I have met and talked to little girls–pre-teens–who are thrilled by the possibility of the first female president in history.
Hillary would be a wonderful role model for girls: a life of public service, a deep concern for children, women’s rights, and families, a dedication to civil rights.
Please don’t just recite GOP propaganda. Trump is now leading in some of the polls. You won’t be happy with what he does.
I’m reciting GOP propaganda? No, you stop reciting the propaganda, specifically that Hillary is a good role model and a hero of the people, and that my points (along with other intelligent posters on this blog) have been “GOP propaganda.” Just because someone is elected a woman president does not make her a hero and a role model. You seem immune to this logic and all the facts in Hillary’s past that support it.
If Trump wins it’s certainly not going to be my fault. If you want to know why Trump even exists, watch this video: michael moore explains trump -jimmy dore. But I do not think even this video will reach you. Definitely staying off this blog for a long while as you have greatly disappointed me in this election.
Ed Detective,
Lots of disagreement here. You say what you think. I say what I think. If we disagree, that’s ok.
Comey transcended his authority and his boss, AG Lynch, to send out this info.
This unprecedented behavior, clearly to influence the election, falls squarely into the parameters of the Hatch Act. I hope he is indicted, loses his job and his pension.
And…Bill Clinton should be locked in his room at the WH should Hillary be elected. He should never have intruded himself into all this by approaching Lynch on the runway.
Hillary should have set aside Huma Abedin when Weiner first transgressed and had to resign his Congressional seat. Huma should never have been in a continuing position of prominence at Hillary’s top aide. Poor judgment all around.
And yet we are literally stuck with these candidates. Our nation will rue the day the DNC and its operatives did to ensure Hillary’s nomination. I can’t wait until this Dumpster Fire of an election is over.
Excerpted from Bill Ivey’s e-mail to John Podesta, head of Hillary’s campaign:
” …. we’ve all been quite content to demean government, drop civics and in general conspire to produce an unaware and compliant citizenry. The unawareness remains strong but compliance is obviously fading rapidly.”
https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/3599
Perhaps the need to strengthen “compliance” while keeping Americans uninformed is one of the motives for more charterization of America’s public schools – and John Podesta is a YUUUUGE supporter of charter schools ….
Eleanor, I don’t think that is fair to attribute that concern to Bill Ivey (whoever he is), as many readers on this blog have echoed the same concern about Republicans’ demeaning government, NCLB causing the dropping of civics, with the result that we have an unaware citizenry.
I don’t feel “stuck” with Hillary. She has been the target of rightwing attacks for decades. Why believe them? She will be a great president.
Diane, thank you for your reply. I have (and had dismissed) the rightwing attackson Hillary for years now. But what has me concerned is Hillary Clinton’s actual record and the record of those closest to her. I think of Berta Caceres in Honduras, of Ken Salazar’s vociferous defense of fracking. I think of Debbie Wasserman Schultz’ service to the payday lending industry as a sponsor of one of their pet bills earlier this year, until it became too obvious to the public. I think of the six-figure donation to Hillary Clinton from Charter School Rainmaker Alice Walton. I think of the Youtube video showing Hillary’s campaign manager, John Podesta, sitting comfortably with the likes of Jeb Bush and other education “Rheeformers.” I think of how Hillary has sold so many Americans on the idea of a “third Obama term.”
I doubt American public schools can withstand another prolonged assault similar to what Obama has done to us, (And, yes, I understand that Trump is worse.)
This is truly the worst presidential election I have seen in my several decades of voting. Bernie Sanders had offered us the best hope to restore and build upon FDR’s legacy. Hillary will continue pulling the Democratic party to the right. The reaI test will be how her group of insiders respond to pressure from those of us who care about policy.
Don’t forget that Rahm Emanual called those of us on the left as “f**king retarded.”
I find it hardly surprising that the ruling classes want to keep the masses uninformed and compliant.
Eleanor,
I understand your concerns and share some of them. Elections come down tia choice inthe end. Bernie is not on the ballot. He ran a spectacular campaign but lost. He is campaigning for Hillary. I want him to be chair of the Senate Budget Committee, where he will wield great power.
Why should the wife be punished for the transgressions of the husband? Why would you punish the victim of Anthony Weiner’s adultery? It would have been unethical, in my opinion, to “set aside” Huma Abedin.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t like Anthony Weiner any better than I do Trump; in fact, I think they are more alike than not. But let’s place the blame and punishment where they belong: on the transgressor.
Thank you, Janet.
With respect, I don’t believe replacing Humedin when her husband became subject to investigation would have been an issue of punishing the wife for the husband’s transgressions. It simply would have been politically and legally the wise thing to do. The resulting mess is predictable, in this day of widely-disseminated digital communications, when everyone but engineers and IT nerds are a few steps behind latest tech as they perform their daily jobs.
It took courage to stand by Huma after her husband’s perversions became public. Throwing her overboard would have been the wise political move. Defending her was morally right but politically wrong.
Have you ever been in a car when the brakes fail -even just for a moment? That’s the way I feel with this election, and it’s a VERY distressing feeling. There’s a sense that things are beginning to veer out of control in this nation…..right now.
Pull the emergency brake.
“James Comey first came to public attention as the deputy special counsel for the Senate committee investigating Whitewater.
In a foreshadowing of his testimony last summer, he and his committee were unable to find any criminal wrongdoing by Bill and Hillary Clinton in the Whitewater matter but nonetheless decided to issue a public report filled with aspersions and innuendo accusing the Clintons of hiding secrets and engaging in misconduct.”
alternet.org
I have to hand it to Trump…he seems to be an inspiration to semi-public school teachers: (Academy of Excellence, a public charter school in Phoenix, Arizona,) Today, the ACLU and the ACLU of Arizona filed letters of complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education to make clear that enough is enough. Any anti-Muslim discrimination is detestable, but it is especially pernicious when it targets students in our public schools, which should be safe havens for students of all faiths, and those of none.
referring to the fact that A.A. and his family were resettled in the United States on refugee visas, the teacher started ranting about Donald Trump, telling A.A.:
“I can’t wait until Trump is elected. He’s going to deport all you Muslims. Muslims shouldn’t be given visas. They’ll probably take away your visa and deport you. You’re going to be the next terrorist, I bet.”
View at Medium.com
I want to know what congressman or congressmen Comey released the information to!! They should be investigated also as to any extortion or bribe toward Comey. No one is saying who the congressmen are…..
Jason Chaffetz, the embarrassment of Utah, was at least one who released the letter. Word has it that he released it on Twitter even before the Democrats knew about the letter.
Yeah how did the public find out about the letter to congress
He should have sent the letter, he said he would tell them if more info came up.
So…locker room trash talk is apparently worse than letting innocent people die because you were too afraid to use force to save them.
Sad, just really sad.
G.B. Miller,
Are you condemning President Reagan for the deaths of 283 Marines in Beirut in 1983? Shame on you.
As for Trump, if he were President, I would cringe every time he opened his gutter mouth. What will he say or do to female heads of state? OMG.