Comey Senate Intelligence Committee Testimony Thread

[Mr. Morden]

I'm currently in line to get in.

If you're in there now, please hold up a sign that says "Dave, when are you going to take away Mr. Morden's mod powers?".  I'm guessing that Mr. Leip will be watching, and I honestly can't think of another way to reach him.  Thanks.

[Mr. Morden]

Is that not believable though? That isn't to say that his underlings like Flynn are necessarily guilt-free, but from what I can gather, President Trump seemed oblivious that a request such as the alleged one he made falls far away from his powers to grant pardon or clemency. There is a reason why Comey can't really obtain proof of intent after all?

How can a person be so stupid as to think asking the head of the FBI to end an investigation into them, and then firing them for not listening, was not against the law? I'm sorry but I don't buy that. That is basic common sense, and if he is literally that dumb, he needs to be removed from office on that count alone.

I think he is that stupid.  Why else would he admit to Lester Holt in public that he was thinking Russia when he fired Comey?  Again, I'll quote from that Chait piece on this from last month:

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/05/trump-firing-comey-biggest-political-crisis-since-watergate.html

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[Mr. Morden]

Is that not believable though? That isn't to say that his underlings like Flynn are necessarily guilt-free, but from what I can gather, President Trump seemed oblivious that a request such as the alleged one he made falls far away from his powers to grant pardon or clemency. There is a reason why Comey can't really obtain proof of intent after all?

How can a person be so stupid as to think asking the head of the FBI to end an investigation into them, and then firing them for not listening, was not against the law? I'm sorry but I don't buy that. That is basic common sense, and if he is literally that dumb, he needs to be removed from office on that count alone.

I think he is that stupid.  Why else would he admit to Lester Holt in public that he was thinking Russia when he fired Comey?  Again, I'll quote from that Chait piece on this from last month:

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/05/trump-firing-comey-biggest-political-crisis-since-watergate.html

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Even if Trump is that stupid (I believe he is too), that does not excuse any obstruction of justice he may or may not have performed.

It does not make him any less guilty.

No, it doesn't make him less guilty.  If Comey's account is accurate, then I think Trump should be impeached.  But in terms of *why* Trump did what he did, I think it's because he's an idiot, and literally doesn't understand that the government works differently from his business empire.

[Mr. Morden]

From the statement of Trump's lawyer:

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So, they're accusing Comey of having committed perjury today.

Weren't they saying yesterday that Comey's prepared statement "vindicated" Trump?:

http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-response-to-comey-senate-testimony-fbi-russia-2017-6

If Comey is making stuff up, then how can his testimony vindicate Trump?  Sounds like Trump's lawyers were slow to clock on to the fact that the sequence of events described by Comey is problematic for Trump, and that they thus need to deny his version of events is accurate, rather than spin them as actually being favorable to him.