Comey Senate Intelligence Committee Testimony Thread

[The_Doctor]

The Right is missing the context of what's being said under oath in this hearing. This is not a nothingburger. This is a definite set of facts and a narrative being told that the President deliberately tried to end the Flynn investigation.

Comey has testified that he believed that the President conveyed an order on Flynn, and said so in open testimony. This is not nothing. This is very, very considerable.

[The_Doctor]

Rubio killed it, Comey verifies that it's a nothingburger and Dems are losing again. Not that I told ya...

Hm.....I didn't get that at all.

Are we watching the same testimony?

Is there an alternate feed, with alternate dialogue somewhere?

He's watching it through his Nazi glasses.

_{note to moderators: do not delete this post, as not only is Klartext a Nazi activist, but there is proof to back it up.}

Correct.

[The_Doctor]

I'm going to use this thread for my own notes, and if you've read my recent rants, this testimony is hugely consequential because we now have sworn testimony corroborating the reports in the NYT and the Washington Post about Trump's efforts to end the Flynn investigation.

If we look at the body of Comey's testimony, we also know it neatly dovetails with what we know of the Trump campaign's behavior with Russia dating to 2015. Notably, Comey puts the date at 2015.

It makes the whole story about Trump and Russia on much firmer ground, although we still need to know the extent of the campaign's links with Russia.

[The_Doctor]

One big reason to believe Comey over Trump: Trump is offering unsworn testimony and Comey is doing this under oath. Nobody has offered explicitly dissenting testimony to what we've read in the papers. Every definite answer under sworn testimony has largely corroborated what we've heard as far as Flynn, the Russian investigation, etc goes. (There has been one exception, as Comey pointed out, but by and large, we now have a definite answer on Trump obstructing justice).

[The_Doctor]

Oh, and for you at home counting points, the President is now being charged by a former FBI Director for obstructing justice in his first 130 days in the White House. We're not at the six month mark and the President now has this as part of his first six months record.

This is not normal or what happened to Bill Clinton. So just to bear that in mind, this is a criminal investigation and as Comey pointed out, the President is now part of that investigation likely, for obstruction of justice.

Not nothing, this is a majorly consequential day for the President. And not in a good way.

[The_Doctor]

Also the president is a moron. His "Tapes tweet" prompted Comey to give his Georgetown friend the memo to leak to the NYT. Which in turn sparked the bombshells that led to the special counsel being appointed.

So no, no, this president did not act with genius aforethought. He acted as pure id and exacerbated the situation. By several degrees.

And someone needs to tell Don Jr that his tweets are not going to help his father. Although no, I don't want any Trump clan member to stop tweeting. They keep digging with the legal damage.

[The_Doctor]

Oh, and Marc Kasowitz appears to be a bigger idiot. This whole "celebration at a Washington hotel" is idiotic. It's utterly clear Trump's lawyer is from NYC and thinks this is a "jury matter." Mueller will return indictments and that could cripple the Trump Presidency right into the ground. It's the public mood that will indict Trump more than any legal rendition.

Not that it isn't right now being mauled and chewed up like a toy and Comey isn't just basically ripping apart the Trump Presidency like a tiger mauling a wounded deer.

[The_Doctor]

Paul Ryan basically says that all this happened because Trump is too inexperienced.

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Translation -  "This is a nothingburger.......and don't mention the I word."

I can think of a few I words. Which one? Impeachment? Indictment?

[The_Doctor]

Lol can u guys all calm down a little? Obstruction of justice, if it happened, happened. Let the investigation go forward then.

Didn't you hop back on the Trump train a while ago and claim that nothing was wrong? Yes, I do recall you trying to discredit the whole investigation like a good Trump trooper.

[The_Doctor]

Lol can u guys all calm down a little? Obstruction of justice, if it happened, happened. Let the investigation go forward then.

Didn't you hop back on the Trump train a while ago and claim that nothing was wrong?

I was talking about collusion as in we haven't seen evidence of collusion directly between trump and Russia. I did not say nothing was wrong in terms of obstruction. If I did (which I didn't) then I was wrong to say so. I responded back to you, TD, when you accused me of saying there was nothing wrong.

I've always supported an investigation into collusion and obstruction. Let the truth come out.

Sorry. I think you were saying something anti-investigation in a thread a few weeks ago. I assume you'll support impeachment if obstruction is verified or collusion?

[The_Doctor]

So, all in all, that was a damning testimony in general, as far as corroborating under oath our understanding of various facets of the investigation and the Trump obstruction of justice issue goes.

[The_Doctor]

It just did. The closed testimony starts at 1 and ends at 1:45.

[The_Doctor]

So, all in all, that was a damning testimony in general, as far as corroborating under oath our understanding of various facets of the investigation and the Trump obstruction of justice issue goes.

fwiw, others will have a different take. He stopped short of calling it obstruction, and flat out denied having been asked by trump or WH to end the investigation. Furthermore, two big articles were debunked by comey. The first one he debunked was the february 17th NYT report that trump associates were in contact with russian intelligence officials. The second article he debunked was wapo's recent article that trump asked coats to interfere in flynn investigation.

First of all hes a material witness now. Its not his job to call it obstruction of justice and he did say that he assumed Mueller is now investigating Trump for obstruction of justice.

Second of all the contacts between Trump's campaign and the Russians are widely acknowledged at this point. Details may be different but that's a given.

third if Coats was truly not asked to do anything why didn't coats give a clear answer yesterday in the testimony?

Overall we now have sworn testimony the president attempted to obstruct justice with Comey's investigation of Flynn. That is a big deal as is our understanding that Sessions is now tied to the Russian investigation among many other things on the record. Comey's now standing behind everything he leaked in public and under oath.

This is damning.

[The_Doctor]

2 days ago y'all were saying he would be indicted for collusion and obstruction. Now it is "you must see there is a problem". And "this isn't a good look for trump". Rough couple days for you! Don't worry. In a few hours the new talking points will be out and we can start again.

Dont pretend you aren't a huge partisan hack dude. With all respect,  you melted down when the bombshells came out because your first and only fear was Democrats regaining power. Let's not pretend you aren't a hack and you genuinely look at both sides. I don't understand your recent lamentation about polarized opinions in light of all this.

Second of all very few people are saying this will result in overnight indictment and conviction. We have lot more evidence and information than we did a few hours ago on record. This is not nothing, this is a rather substantial advancement in the case to remove the president from power.

[The_Doctor]

The irony of this is that actually one reason I want to remove Trump is to save the Republican Party from electoral annihilation and to atop the left from riding this into power.

[The_Doctor]

I've come to the conclusion that Trump needs to resign for his movement to live. I don't think he's guilty of anything, but it is clear that they're going to drag this out to the point it'll kill everything we've accomplished by death by a thousand paper cuts.

I'd tell Trump some Dylan lyrics if he was listening to my advice: "I'm going back to New York City, I do believe I had enough."

This. Minus not being guilty. This man is literally putting the conservative movement at risk.

[The_Doctor]

I've come to the conclusion that Trump needs to resign for his movement to live. I don't think he's guilty of anything, but it is clear that they're going to drag this out to the point it'll kill everything we've accomplished by death by a thousand paper cuts.

In other words you can't cut your loses, all your chips are in. You either win or lose everything.

I have to keep asking, who's bright idea was it to invest so much in him in the first place!

Not mine. I didn't put any chips on him and I remember we impeached Nixon and got Reagan. So I'm okay with rolling the dice and removing Trump from office.

[The_Doctor]

Oh and Trump's lawyers and aides will be believable if we get them under oath to swear Comey is unequivocally wrong. They should offer to swear out that statement in testimony to Congress. Until then they're full of it because at this point only one side has sworn under oath.

[The_Doctor]

I've come to the conclusion that Trump needs to resign for his movement to live. I don't think he's guilty of anything, but it is clear that they're going to drag this out to the point it'll kill everything we've accomplished by death by a thousand paper cuts.

In other words you can't cut your loses, all your chips are in. You either win or lose everything.

I have to keep asking, who's bright idea was it to invest so much in him in the first place!

Not mine. I didn't put any chips on him and I remember we impeached Nixon and got Reagan. So I'm okay with rolling the dice and removing Trump from office.

Reagan is dead. So is Reagan's America and the majority of his voters.

Not the point. We survived Nixon and did fine.

Also If the idea of limited government and rolling back the welfare state and limiting abortions while projecting American hegemony is dead then we're just picking between liberal Democrats.

Regardless I think there are plenty of Reagan Republicans in America and we have a few elections left.

[The_Doctor]

Oh and Trump's lawyers and aides will be believable if we get them under oath to swear Comey is unequivocally wrong. They should offer to swear out that statement in testimony to Congress. Until then they're full of it because at this point only one side has sworn under oath.

Showboat swore an oath did he. I guess that makes him super duper trustworthy.

Compared to the other side that didn't swear on oath in their statements? Yep.

[The_Doctor]

Oh and Trump's lawyers and aides will be believable if we get them under oath to swear Comey is unequivocally wrong. They should offer to swear out that statement in testimony to Congress. Until then they're full of it because at this point only one side has sworn under oath.

Showboat swore an oath did he. I guess that makes him super duper trustworthy.

Compared to the other side that didn't swear on oath in their statements? Yep.

     People lie under oath all the time. I don't necessarily disbelieve Comey, but I am convinced at this point of something I have suspected since last October; namely, that he is a compulsive attention seeker. That tendency casts doubt on much of what he says.

Except that Comey doesn't have a history of lying when giving sworn testimony and at this juncture only one side is backing their statements with sworn testimony. Comey also documented everything and the other side, safe to say, did not.

I would take Comey's side over Trump's at this point given who is under oath and provided memos and documentation. Trump, of course, has a long history of lying and obfuscating and a longer history of misleading. And he's making statements without being under oath which is telling. If he's under oath I would consider his statements a little more carefully.

What youre doing is basically trying to cast both as equal liars through weasel words. This is not in fact the case.  

[The_Doctor]

From the statement of Trump's lawyer:

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

Also

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Haha there is nothing illegal about disclosing a conversation with the President as long as it wasn't regarding classified materials, which this clearly wasn't.

Very stupidly they're also confirming Comey unintentionally by calling his testimony unauthorized disclosure, thus confirming the very things he said!

They're morons.

[The_Doctor]

TD, as an aside, are you hoping a democrar wins is in 2020?

Not sure the relevance but no. I clearly dislike the Democratic Party and the liberal ideology as a statist ideology that reduces freedom. I don't want to vote Democratic in the slightest in a normal situation (which this is not). Ideally I would hope Kasich or Pence (if cleared) becomes the Republican nominee and dispatches whoever the Democrats put up.

If Trump is on the ballot I'm hoping for him to lose the nomination and barring that a one term Democrat. That's my ideological preference.

Contrary to what you think I don't want a Democratic victory. And in fact Trump is a great benefit to the Democratic Party's mid to long term fortunes 4-8 years out.

[The_Doctor]

Trump gave the republican party the most electoral votes since 1988 and TD has the gall to claim he is leading to electoral annihilation.

LOL

Ironically, to save alabama football, I want to fire nick saban!

If you are going to attack me stop at least spouting like the r/The_Donald and taking your talking points from there.

Yes, we're doing so well right now as a party, with a President under investigation, a 38-58% approval rating on average, and a guy who lost the popular vote. He received a lower share of the popular vote than every other Republican Presidential winner since 1968. We're also the most divided as a party despite having Congress. That's because our President is an idiot who can't lead, who can't organize the party, and who who half asses things.

Also, 304 electoral votes isn't that much better than W. Bush's 286 and he won the popular vote by 2.5%. Stop pretending this is some great massive victory and that Trump is some realigning President. He isn't. He underperformed among the fastest growing segments of the electorate and everyone thought he would lose. He's not an electoral genius.  Also we received the lowest margin for a winning Presidential party in the House - a 1% win, compared to 2.5% in 2004 and better in the past. Don't pretend your man didn't underperform any winning Republican like John Kasich.

I warned consistently that Trump's Administration would lead to a long term wreckage for the Republican Party. So far, between his incompetence, Russian links, the attempts to obstruct justice, and to taint us all with his various misdeeds and stupidity, that prediction is working out very well.

You want to pretend Trump's White House is going to work out, sure, by all means pretend. But don't take a leak on my leg and tell me it's raining. Don't tell me that a President who's campaign under criminal investigation is going to be just fine.

Believe me, it's not me wrecking the GOP. It's you and your Trumpist ilk (Sanchez, this isn't directed at you) who are helping cement the image of the GOP as deeply unpopular. You and the Trumpists basically handed the Democratic Party a Republican President they would cook up in a Frankenstein factory and endowed that President with every single walking talking stereotype of a Republican.

Don't blame me for this mess. I was the one who voted Cruz and told every single Republican in 2016 that voting for Trump was a death sentence for our party.

In fact, take ownership of this mess and admit the President has created 99% of his own messes and led us to this day where a former FBI Director is alleging obstruction of justice. YOU voted for this with both arms and jumped straight into the ditch.

Either do that or at least take the time to make a good rebuttal instead of whining to me about my opposition to Trump because I predicted that he would make a giant mess of things (which you perfectly well knew was coming; don't blame anyone but yourself).  

EDIT: Oh, and every GOP Presidential family opposed Trump. The Reagans and the Bushes and even McCain and Romney didn't endorse Trump for Election Day. McCain withdrew his endorsement. So I'm in very good GOP company.

[The_Doctor]

Oh and Trump's lawyers and aides will be believable if we get them under oath to swear Comey is unequivocally wrong. They should offer to swear out that statement in testimony to Congress. Until then they're full of it because at this point only one side has sworn under oath.

Showboat swore an oath did he. I guess that makes him super duper trustworthy.

Compared to the other side that didn't swear on oath in their statements? Yep.

     People lie under oath all the time. I don't necessarily disbelieve Comey, but I am convinced at this point of something I have suspected since last October; namely, that he is a compulsive attention seeker. That tendency casts doubt on much of what he says.

Except that Comey doesn't have a history of lying when giving sworn testimony and at this juncture only one side is backing their statements with sworn testimony. Comey also documented everything and the other side, safe to say, did not.

I would take Comey's side over Trump's at this point given who is under oath and provided memos and documentation. Trump, of course, has a long history of lying and obfuscating and a longer history of misleading. And he's making statements without being under oath which is telling. If he's under oath I would consider his statements a little more carefully.

What youre doing is basically trying to cast both as equal liars through weasel words. This is not in fact the case.  

     I have not tried to compare Comey's propensity to lie to Trump's. I am pointing out that speaking under oath does not make one's account more truthful and also providing my own interpretation that Comey is an attention whore.

    What you are doing here, unlike in your previous post, is providing more substantive reasons to lend credibility to Comey's account. As I said, I do not disbelieve him, though what I saw struck me as being rather melodramatic.

He can be a bit of a showboat absolutely. The downside for the Trump people, he's a showboat with substance. It's pretty rare, but it happens.

(For the record, the White House complaining about the divulging of "privileged communications" is ... awkward, because it presents that Comey has some of the facts right minimum. If not all of them).