WASHINGTON — The FBI, with its 35,000 employees, is part of the Justice Department. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the first United States Senator to suck up to Donald Trump by endorsing him for his presidential run, is one of Trump’s most conspicuous sycophants, but he was forced to recuse himself from the FBI’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election because he lied to the Senate Judiciary Committee about his contacts with Vladimir Putin’s ambassador to the US, Sergei Ivanovich Kislyak.
FBI Director James Comey testified today at an open hearing before the House Intelligence Committee, chaired by Congressman Devin Nunes (R-Califorinia). Congressman Adam Schiff (D-California) is the ranking member. Nunes had publicly stated before today that there is no evidence supporting Trump’s tweeted assertion that President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the election campaign.
Because the Attorney General is the top official of the Justice Department, that means that Sessions can tell Comey what to do, and also correct him when he does something wrong.
But today, Comey failed to lavish praise on Trump. Instead, he stated for the first time that the FBI is investigating Russia’s interference with our 2016 presidential election. The FBI’s investigation began in the summer of 2016, but it was publicly announced by Comey only today. Yet Comey announced, only 11 days before November 8, that he had decided to reopen the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails, thus costing her the election.
Comey’s failure to make an adulatory statement about Trump was not pleasing to Sessions, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Press Secretary Sean Spicer, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Associate solitary reporter Matthew Isaiah Smith was with Comey and Sessions, in Sessions’ office, after Comey was instructed to report to Sessions’ office.
“Boy,” the Attorney General began, “Don’t yew ree-a-liz' who you work for?”
“Sir,” Comey replied, “I work for the government.”
“No yew don’t. Yew work fo' me, and yew were supposed to tell the committee what a wonderful, unblemished man Donald Trump is. Instead, yew said that you are investigating the Trump campaign and its efforts to develop a bettah relationship with Russia.”
Sessions showed Comey the door and immediately replaced him with Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who has held that position for only seven weeks. Comey was in the fourth year of his ten year term; he was nominated for that position by President Obama.
As he left the Justice Department, Comey walked by the front door of the Democratic National Committee, where he was spotted by DNC Chair Tom Perez. When Perez asked Comey how he enjoyed his day in the spotlight, Comey said, “I thought it went well.”
“But where’s your FBI limousine? Why are you walking around all alone with no driver?”
Comey then told Perez about his short conversation with the Attorney General.
“But don’t you think you want to talk with Trump? You are supposed to have a ten year appointment.”
“No, I don’t think so. True enough, I am a good Republican, which is why I announced, eleven days before the election, that I had decided to reopen our investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s emails, and I was pleased that she lost, but, to tell you the truth, I’m sick of politics”
Soon, the two were enjoying a delicious meal of chicharron, empanadas, and platanos maduros at Los Hermanos Dominican Restaurant, in the Mount Pleasant area of Washington, at Perez’ invitation; he is a Dominican American. They watched with great interest as FBI agents spotted Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, leaving the Ukrainian Embassy, where he was interrogated by Serhiy Gorbatyuk, the head of the department for special investigations within the General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine. Gorbatyuk is investigating allegations of illegal government spending during Viktor Yanukovych’s time as Ukraine’s president; Yanukovych is hiding in Russia because Ukraine has accused him of high treason, and Manafort was his lobbyist. As reported in today’s Politico by Kenneth Vogel, Josh Meyer, and David Stern, Manafort was Trump’s Campaign Chairman until he was replaced by Breitbart’s gift to the GOP, Steve Bannon, after the Trump campaign realized that Manafort’s lobbying for Yanukovych and dictators Ferdinand Marcos and Mobutu Sese Seko would doom Trump’s campaign. The FBI agents handcuffed Manafort, who protested that all he ever wanted to do in life was to see Trump elected president.
“What goes around comes around,” Comey said as he bit into his chicharron.
Write a comment