The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

OUR VIEW

Posted: Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:47 PM

OUR VIEW: James Comey's Attempt To Reach Higher Plane Of Morality Is Impossible Since He Is Nothing But Fraud

Morally unfit eh? Well that's rich coming from someone who lied under oath and destroyed every ounce of credibility a once untarnished institution once had before he took over under former President George W. Bush.

To Comey's surprise this Monday AM however, even those on the left are ripping the book and Comey's interview on ABC.

Lanny Davis, a former special counsel to President Clinton, slammed Comey as a “liar” in an Op-Ed for The Hill.

“It is time -- accurately -- to call Comey a liar for this crucial, self-serving rationalization for his action that made Donald Trump president,” Davis wrote.

Davis urged Comey to “admit the truth” about his Oct. 28, 2016, letter that reopened an inquiry into Hillary Clinton’s personal email server.

“You wrote the letter not because you had to in order to fulfill a promise to Congress, but because you wanted to protect your political rear end from anti-Clinton Republican partisans. Period,” Davis wrote.

Last week, Associated Press reporter Zeke Miller called Comey’s book “petty,” while Vanity Fair reporter Tina Nguyen seems to agree with Fox News’ Chris Wallace that, “Higher Loyalty" comes off as bitchy at times.

“Indeed, the book’s bitchiness seemed to be the primary concern of the far right,” Nguyen wrote.

James Comey is now seeking rehabilitation on the back of the president who fired him. Liberals have not forgiven him for undermining Hillary Clinton’s campaign; so it seems, he is doing his level best to win back their admiration.

Comey's comments last night were comical in some ways and pathetically sad in others. In both cases he came across as nothing more than a fraud.

When he attends a reception for law enforcement officials in the White House, and walks across the room to greet the president, he says he’s nervous about embracing Trump, but can’t help the optics when his boss leans in and whispers in his ear. What was that dreaded message from his president? Trump says, “I look forward to working with you.” Wow – how crazy. How threatening. How normal.

Comey told Stephanopoulos he was mystified that Trump and his team discussed how they are going to handle the public relations aspect of the infamous Steele dossier.

Really?

Did he not imagine that a White House would worry about the public’s reactions to rumors of sordid goings-on with prostitutes?

He carefully pondered Stephanopoulos’ query as to whether the Russians “have something” on Donald Trump, concluding that it’s “possible.”

And yet, earlier he says that if someone is conducting an investigation for a year and doesn’t have a good sense of where it will end up, that person should be fired. Shouldn’t Comey know by now whether those salacious accusations are true or not? It appears that he knows these tales are bunk, but he delights in letting the public savor the possibility.

The former FBI director colorfully likens Trump’s effort to instill loyalty and teamwork in those working for him to the behavior of a mob boss. But yet, isn’t an insistence on loyalty and teamwork what you would expect of someone newly forming an administration?

Everything discussed in the ABC interview was darkened by the prism of Comey’s anger and hatred of the president. (He revealed that his wife and four daughters took to the streets to march in protest against the president; so much for neutrality on the home front.)

Stephanopoulos of course led the conversation, with the two singing the anti-Trump duet in perfect harmony. Never did the ABC host question why Comey the famous note-taker failed to take notes in his interview with Hillary Clinton, or to record that conversation - UNDER OATH. That is a courtesy the same FBI never gave Gen. Michael Flynn.

There was also not one single question on why the FBI chief granted immunity to five of Clinton’s top aides, demanding nothing in return.

What about the illegal leaking of information to Comey's college buddy? Crickets.

The interview on ABC is the first of many that will attempt to sell Comey’s book. The fact that five hours with Stephanopoulos could be whittled down to an unexciting 45 minutes suggests that Comey’s moment in the sun will be brief.

Hillary Clinton put pen to paper and showed herself to be a whiny, bitter woman who blamed everyone and everything for her loss to Donald Trump instead of what actually cost her the presidency – her own shortcomings. Her book tour lost steam as even her fans tired of the relentless slog of complaints; it has been the beginning of the end of the Clinton era.

Back to Comey.

I couldn't stomach even watching this travesty of common sense Sunday night.

I did ask myself this question today and I'll ask you the same one: Who writes a “bitchy” book, as some have rightly called it, and details in interviews observations about the size of a president’s hands and the tanning circles around his eyes?

Certainly not someone who wants to be taken seriously nor one who expects his recollections of meetings and events to sway history. He and Stormy Daniels need to have a drink. They deserve each other on that front.

Comey says it is a dangerous time for our country. He’s right. It is dangerous to have former law enforcement officials undermining the president of the United States through spreading malicious gossip and rumors. It is also dangerous to have the FBI undertaking and managing investigations based on political calculations and preferences and leaking classified information to college buddies in hopes of getting a scurrilous special counsel investigation started to get back at the President of the United States.

I'll throw this last little bit in too. President Trump pardoned former aide to former Vice President Dick Cheney Scooter Libby this past week. Every legal expert in the world felt Libby had been the target of a political hit job by enemies of former President George W. Bush. Bush didn't have the guts to right the wrong while in office, but President Trump did. It even drew a call from Cheney, who mind you is no Trump fan,  to the White House thanking the President for "righting a wrong that should have never happened."

One little bit of information the press forgot to mention was that the man responsible for hiring the special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to launch this farce of an event based on false facts regarding Valerie Plame was none other than James Comey.

Comey oversaw that FBI, which increasingly appears compromised and untrustworthy at the highest ranks. So much for being the only honorable man left standing and seeking a "higher morality."

That man sure isn't James Comey and never will be. I hope he enjoys his five minutes in the sun this will all bring with the Trump haters. The rest of the country saw it for what it was last night. The memoirs of a fraud.

Christopher McDonald, Publisher, Editor in Charge

Great Smoky Mountain Journal