Fired former FBI director James Comey is at it again.
Last week, Comey testified before members of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. In a single appearance, Comey, on 245 separate occasions, while under oath, stonewalled questions with “I don’t know,” “I don’t remember” or “I don’t recall,” according to a congressional interrogator, Representative Jim Jordan (R., Ohio).
If any private citizen tried Comey’s gambit with federal IRS auditors or FBI investigators, he would likely be indicted for perjury or obstruction.
Why did Comey, the nation’s former top-ranking federal investigator, avoid telling “the whole truth and nothing but the truth” while under oath?
The answer is, unfortunately, obvious. Comey has been called to testify before members of Congress on numerous occasions. He has written a long book and gone on an extensive book tour, and his paper trail is long.
He tweets almost daily and is often on television, and in those venues, he never seems to admit to any memory lapse. And Comey has been at the center of every major scandal involving the 2016 election.
In other words, Comey is realizing that almost anything he might say will likely be at odds with something he has already said, done, or written — and could potentially subject him to perjury charges.
So Comey dodges and hedges.
Oddly, Comey has long posed as a modern-day Jeremiah. He thunders almost daily about the moral lapses of his perceived antagonists — mostly Donald Trump, the Trump administration, and the Republican party that Comey left.
Comey has tweeted under the pseudonym “Reinhold Niebuhr” — the celebrated 20th-century German-American theologian and ethicist. He apparently wishes to remind us of their similar moral insight.
Comey’s memoir is grandly entitled “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership.” He writes to remind readers of his sterling character, which has always guided his career. Most recently, the self-righteous Comey said that the interim attorney general, Matthew Whitaker, is not very bright.
What is odd about the professed ethics of the sanctimonious Comey is that his assertions are belied by his own often-unethical conduct.
The Justice Department’s inspector general criticized Comey in a report for acting unprofessionally in his investigation of Hillary Clinton’s illicit private email server, improperly assuming the role of both investigator and prosecutor. Comey concluded, then opened, and then again concluded the Clinton email case at public press conferences in the middle of a presidential campaign. He drafted an exoneration of Clinton before he had even interviewed her or her top aides.
Comey’s testimony about FBI leaks to the press is at odds with his sworn statements from his former deputy, Andrew McCabe.
Comey met with President Trump on several occasions and ensured him that he was not the subject of an FBI investigation — amid mysterious leaks to the press that Trump was, in fact, part of the probe.
Speaking of leaks, Comey made sure that his memos about his meetings with President Trump were leaked to the press.
Comey said his bizarre behavior was designed to force the appointment of a special counsel, which resulted in the selection of Robert Mueller, a former FBI director and a longtime Comey acquaintance.
Um… because he is at the epicenter of coup against Trump.
Comey may have at some point been a reputable and honorable person. But his fear of Hillary becoming President compelled him to choose a side instead of justice. No doubt he was put in the awkward position of having to investigate the preeminent Democrat Presidential candidate and his investigation could alter the course of the election. He proved not to have the courage to face that challenge with a dedication to duty and justice. He chose a side. He chose the WRONG side.
It wasn’t Comey’s fault the DNC chose an obvious criminal for their candidate. The writing was on the wall, Hillary had even committed perjury on VIDEO, and for a party so suspicious of anything anyone but a liberal does, they should have avoided Hillary like the plague she is. But, Comey either wanted Hillary as President or he simply chose the path that should have offered the least resistance. Hillary was going to win and she would make everything OK for him; the mess would be cleaned up.
But she lost. Too bad, Comey. Too bad.