Tag: James Comey

Comey sought more money for Russia probe days before he was fired by President Trump, officials say

The following article by Ashley Parker was posted on the Washington Post website May 10, 2017:

In this Wednesday, May 3, 2017, photo then-FBI Director James Comey pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Last week, then-FBI Director James B. Comey requested more money and resources from the Justice Department for his bureau’s investigation into collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, according to two officials with knowledge of the discussion.

Comey, who was fired by President Trump on Tuesday, made the request in a meeting last week with Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, and Senate Intelligence Committee members were briefed on the request on Monday.

[With Comey’s dismissal, the Russia investigation will soon be run by Trump allies] Continue reading “Comey sought more money for Russia probe days before he was fired by President Trump, officials say”

s Tuesday night firing of Comey: ‘Nixonian’ or uniquely Trumpian?

The following article by Marc Fisher and Karen DeYoung was posted on the Washington Post website May 9, 2017:

It wasn’t quite evening, nor was it Saturday, but within minutes after President Trump fired the FBI director who was investigating Russian meddling in the president’s election last year, the words “Saturday Night Massacre” swept across a stunned capital.

In Washington, especially in the throes of scandals and investigations, each new shock development sparks a search for useful historical analogies. Immediately on Tuesday evening, Democrats and Republicans alike turned to 1973, to the Saturday Night Massacre, when President Richard M. Nixon rattled the nation by firing Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor who had been appointed to investigate his behavior in the Watergate scandal. On one evening that October, Nixon abolished the office of the special prosecutor, and both the attorney general, Elliot Richardson, and his deputy, William Ruckelshaus, resigned after refusing Nixon’s demand that they fire Cox. Continue reading “s Tuesday night firing of Comey: ‘Nixonian’ or uniquely Trumpian?”

3 Ways Comey’s firing echoes Watergate (and 2 ways it doesn’t)

The following article by James Pindell was released by the Boston Globe in their Ground Game email May 10, 2017:

In the aftermath of President Trump firing FBI director James Comey, one word seemed to circulate on Washington’s lips and among the country’s political class: Watergate.

Watergate, the scandal that forced President Nixon to resign as he faced impeachment, became a trending topic on Twitter, and it dominated the discussion for much of Tuesday night on at least two cable news channels.

On MSNBC, for example, longtime NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw, told viewers, “The one thing I learned during Watergate: Everybody take a deep breath.” Continue reading “3 Ways Comey’s firing echoes Watergate (and 2 ways it doesn’t)”

Firing FBI director Comey is already backfiring on Trump. It’s only going to get worse.

The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch was posted on the Washington Post website May 10, 2017 (note no reaction from Rep. Paulsen as of May 10, 11:57 AM):

James Comey boards a private jet at Los Angeles International Airport last night after Donald Trump fired him as FBI director. He learned the news on television. (KABC-TV via AP)

THE BIG IDEA: After the president fired James Comey, the cloud hanging over the White House just got bigger and darker.

— Donald Trump has surrounded himself with sycophants and amateurs who are either unwilling or unable to tell him no. He lacks a David-Gergen-like figure who is wise to the ways of Washington and has the stature to speak up when the president says he wants to fire an FBI director who is overseeing the counterintelligence investigation into whether his associates coordinated with Moscow. Without such a person, Trump just walked headlong into a political buzz saw. Continue reading “Firing FBI director Comey is already backfiring on Trump. It’s only going to get worse.”

Trump to sit down with Russian foreign minister, one day after firing Comey

The following article by Philip Rucker and Karen DeYoung was posted on the Washington Post website May 10, 2017:

A day after firing the FBI director who had been overseeing the sweeping probe into his campaign’s ties to Russia, President Trump has just one event on his public schedule: an Oval Office meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The sit-down between Trump and Lavrov, the first face-to-face contact the president has had with a senior official of the Russian government, will take place Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in the White House. It will be closed to the press, according to the White House schedule. Continue reading “Trump to sit down with Russian foreign minister, one day after firing Comey”

Comey Confirms F.B.I. Investigation of Russian Election Interference, Links to Trump Campaign

High points of the intelligence briefing of Congress today, March 20, 2017, from Matthew Rosenberg, Emmarie Huetteman and Michael S. Schmidt update at 11:01 AM and posted on the New York Times website:

■ The F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, publicly confirmed an investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election and whether associates of the president were in contact with Moscow.

■ Mr. Comey also said the F.B.I. had “no information” to support President Trump’s allegation that Barack Obama wiretapped him.

■ The hearing’s featured witnesses: Mr. Comey and Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency.