It took the Democrats about an hour to denounce President Trump’s termination of FBI Director James Comey as “Nixonesque”, thereby attempting to besmirch the character of the president by desperately trying to make an analogy to Watergate.
Last year, the Democrats called for Comey’s head as they blamed him for costing Hillary Clinton the presidency. Following Comey’s last minute investigation of Mrs. Clinton’s e-mail server, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer (NY) claimed in early November, “I do not have confidence in him (Comey) any longer.”
Following Trump’s firing of Comey, Schumer held a brief news conference yesterday where he expressed a change of heart, claiming the president had made a big mistake. He then suggested the investigation into Trump’s campaign with possible Russian ties was “getting too close for the president” and was “part of a cover-up.” This presented him with the opportunity to call for a special prosecutor to investigate possible Trump/Russian ties, but more importantly, to draw a comparison to Nixon’s White House, thereby creating a feeding frenzy by the liberal media.
Why wasn’t Comey fired sooner? First, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation, as supported by the Democrats. Second, his Deputy, Rod J. Rosenstein, was not confirmed until just two weeks ago. One of his first tasks was to investigate Mr. Comey’s activities. The White House released Mr. Rosenstein’s memo recommending dismissal. In it, he claimed. “Over the past year, however, the F.B.l.’s reputation and credibility have suffered substantial damage, and it has affected the entire Department of Justice. … I cannot defend the Director’s handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton’s emails, and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken. Almost everyone agrees that the Director made serious mistakes; it is one of the few issues that unites people of diverse perspectives.”
Mr. Rosenstein appears to have competently served as the United States attorney in Maryland under both a Republican President (George W. Bush) and a Democrat (Barack Obama). As such, he is considered apolitical and a reputable prosecutor.
So far, the Russian investigation has produced nothing linking Russia to the president’s campaign last year. As indicated in Mr. Trump’s letter to him, James Comey found nothing. Even Cong. Maxine Waters (D), one of the President’s harshest critics, recently admitted there is not any evidence at this time of collusion between Mr. Trump and Russia.
So, why the indignation by the Senate Minority leader and the Democrats in general? Simple; mid-term elections. If they can re-create the gloom and doom of Watergate, they are hoping to take back the Congress and, as such, they are adding this to their war cry. These calls of pseudo-outrage may enrage the liberal Left, but it is likely the American public will look past it simply because James Comey’s credibility has been in question since last year and the country understands the need for a more effective leader of the Bureau.
Sen. Chuck Schumer’s statements were predictable and expressed nothing but partisan politics. Just about any political writer could have written it for him well in advance of his news conference. We should be less interested in wasting time and money on a special prosecutor, and more concerned with finding a viable candidate to lead the FBI. Nonetheless, the Democrats will not let go of this issue until after the mid-terms next year.
Keep the Faith!
Tim Bryce is a freelance writer and mangement consultant in the Tampa Bay area of Florida.
For Tim’s columns, see: timbryce.com
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