Freak Out Friday – May 12, 2017

Wow. What EVER shall we discuss today?

Federal Bureau of изучение: I remember when all this happened before. The Saturday night massacre, when the Nixon tapes were more than just a throwaway reference in an X-Men movie. Back when Nixon fired Archibald Cox, the Watergate investigator, and hey, didn’t THAT just put an end to the entire Watergate scandal. I swear to God, I wish James Comey’s last name was “Waters” because it would literally be the Watersgate scandal, and how perfect would that be. I mean, when even the Nixon library is tweeting “Fun facts” to distance themselves from you, then how far off the reservation have you wandered?

I must admit, I initially had mixed feelings about this. God knows that Hillary Clinton did enough to herself to help her lose the election. People have written entire books about it. I’m waiting for Kate McKinnon to star in an SNL mockumentary on the subject. Nevertheless, Comey’s last minute announcement that he was reopening the investigation into her email was definitely a factor in, at the very least, convincing wishy-washy voters who were seeking one last reason to stay home to do just that. And let us not forget that when he did it, Trump was endlessly praising of Comey for doing so.

Yet now Trump asked us to believe that Comey was fired BECAUSE of what he did to Hillary? That half a year later, his actions were deemed so unforgivable that he had to be fired? While he was out of town, addressing FBI recruits? So that he could find out over the television news? At the suggestion of the deputy attorney general who immediately threatened to resign because his memo on the subject–written at Trump’s request–was initially portrayed as being the reason for the firing in the first place?

I say “initially” because after several days of the White House claiming that that’s how it happened, Trump stepped forward and said, No, it was entirely his idea to fire Comey despite whatever recommendations came down. Why? Because according to Trump the “rank and file” of the FBI had lost confidence in Comey, a claim that was rebutted by, naturally, the FBI.

Which again leaves us with the question of why Trump fired him.

The obvious answer is because of the investigations into the Russian involvement with the election, which is drawing all the comparisons to Nixon and Watergate. The timing would seem impossible to ignore: Comey being fired days after asking for additional resources to conduct the investigation, something that Trump desperately wants to go away.

But I think it was this: When Comey, in his testimony to Congress about his announcement of the email investigation reopening, stated, “It makes me mildly nauseous to think we might have had some impact on the election.” Now technically that’s grammatically questionable since “nauseous” actually means to make others feel sick. He should have said “mildly nauseated.” On the other hand, since his actions partly resulted in Trump’s election, and Trump’s presidency makes me feel sick, an argument can be made that what he said was accurate, so I’ll let it slide. He went on to state that it wouldn’t have caused him to do things differently, but Trump was never much for context. What Trump heard was that his being elected made Comey feel ill, which is–let’s face it–a reasonable interpretation of what he said. I think the moment Comey said that, he was immediately on Trump’s Hitlist. That the Russian investigation was just one more reason, certainly, but Trump is someone who demands unstinting loyalty. You know that whole thing about a smart president surrounding himself with smart people who disagree with him? That’s not Trump. Trump wants people who walk in lockstep with him and are 100% loyal, which is why nepotism is his go-to hiring maneuver. He even demanded at a dinner that Comey swear loyalty to him, and Comey refused to do so.

And so Comey was axed, and Trump is so confused as to why he’s getting negative blow back for this that he is threatening to put an end to daily press briefings, a suggestion that his puppet master, Putin, would wholeheartedly embrace.

Meanwhile there is still a call for an independent prosecutor to conduct the investigations. I know a good lawyer who isn’t doing anything: Hillary Clinton.

Did he do anything right? Yes. He bashed Stephen Colbert, which undoubtedly drove Colbert’s ratings even higher.

PAD