James Comey testimony: Date, time and how to watch Trump hearing on TV and online

[cubby]

Nothing there says the firing was done because of the Flynn thing.. If anything Trump can easily argue that it is because they wouldn't finish the Russian investigation despite there being zero evidence of collusion. Especially since the last talk between the two of them was about the Russian investigation affecting his presidency and Comey refusing to anything about it despite it being so long.

So you admit that the testimony proves that Comey was asked to stop the Russia investigation? Glad you finally got it. You're aware, right, that the very conversation you claim Trump can argue happened, is obstruction of justice, right?

[Edge-]

Again maybe you're not up to date or you just didn't read. Trump kept asking Comey to finish the Russian Investigation and clear his name as there was no proof of collusion, as soon as possible which Comey didn't do despite being given enough time.

You realize that you can't just wrap up an investigation at the drop of a dime...right? And that investigations like this take years or more due to the complexities involved...right?

And that asking those investigating people directly connected to you to "wrap up" the investigation isn't a good thing and doesn't look good for Trump...right?

[vondevon]

Nothing there says the firing was done because of the Flynn thing.. If anything Trump can easily argue that it is because they wouldn't finish the Russian investigation despite there being zero evidence of collusion. Especially since the last talk between the two of them was about the Russian investigation affecting his presidency and Comey refusing to anything about it despite it being so long.

^^^ Someone didn't read Comey's testimony and is getting his information from elsewhere because the last 5 or so posts you've made are all easily countered.

So here's the part you seem to have missed:

On the morning of April 11, the President called me and asked what I had
done about his request that I “get out” that he is not personally under investigation.
I replied that I had passed his request to the Acting Deputy Attorney General, but I
had not heard back. He replied that “the cloud” was getting in the way of his
ability to do his job. He said that perhaps he would have his people reach out to
the Acting Deputy Attorney General. I said that was the way his request should be
handled. I said the White House Counsel should contact the leadership of DOJ to
make the request, which was the traditional channel.

He said he would do that and added, “Because I have been very loyal to
you, very loyal; we had that thing you know.” I did not reply or ask him what he
meant by “that thing.” I said only that the way to handle it was to have the White
House Counsel call the Acting Deputy Attorney General. He said that was what
he would do and the call ended.

[cubby]

Again maybe you're not up to date or you just didn't read. Trump kept asking Comey to finish the Russian Investigation and clear his name as there was no proof of collusion, as soon as possible which Comey didn't do despite being given enough time.

He didn't ask Comey to stop investigating him and then fire him. Yes if he did that, that would be a crime.

That's obstruction of justice. At some point you'll realize this, and then we can all get back to our snack preparations.

[Stormspellz]

Yes, because the "bombshells" were specifically that he wasn't going to do anything.

And if Trumps chants of "lock her up" and Hillary being forever connected to email servers are "nothing" to you, then you have no grasp on history or reality.

lock her up was a great campaign slogan and rhetoric red meat for the gop base, but beyond that doesn't mean much at all. As for the emails, history before and since have shown how hypocritical the whole situation is, with previous sec of state, govoners (who are dealing with national security issues), ect have used private services and how Trump's classified info blunders so far.

[Thepersona]

Again maybe you're not up to date or you just didn't read. Trump kept asking Comey to finish the Russian Investigation and clear his name as there was no proof of collusion, as soon as possible which Comey didn't do despite being given enough time.

He didn't ask Comey to stop investigating him and then fire him. Yes if he did that, that would be a crime.

No one argued that. He did do obstruction of justice, regarding the flynn case, not on his own (and we dont even know if donnie boy has any charge o investigation regarding him... this could come months, if not years later)

[GodEmperor]

What do you mean there is 0 evidence of collusion? Trump fired Flynn over lying about his conversation with Russia. Comey didn't refuse, he found it extremely inappropriate and reported it to his superior. Going as far as asking to not be left alone with Trump again.

Trump fires Flynn not because he talked with Russia but because he didn't properly inform Pence. What has that to do with collusion hello? Now you liberals have stopped making any sense altogether.

[Skroe]

Sensationalist headline is sensationalist. I mean, if it's a bombshell, it's a pretty small one. It's an important fact, and it's not a good piece of info for the Trump camp, but it's also not anything that's going to blow anything wide open.

I disagree. We have to look at this in context.

We have been hit with 5pm Trump-Russia cruise missiles almost every day for a month. It kinds of blends in, it's been such a deluge. We need to seperate what we already know through news reports / leaks with what is a matter of public record.

In this document, the fired Director of the FBI accuses the President of attempting to halt an investigation... an investigation by the President's own words, got that Director fired over.

We knew this sequence of events already. We knew, broadly, what happened. Now it is a matter of Congressional Record. If Trump is to be impeached, it's going to take a lot more of this: the things we know through news being testified to in front of Congress.

Today is enormous, for that alone. It's a big step forward to Trump's removal.

[Thepersona]

Yeah, now you're just plain incorrect. Investigations like this aren't wrapped up in a few weeks. They can take months or even years. And since they keep finding more evidence...

Also, the President isn't supposed to be asking Comey about ANY active investigations. He's supposed to ask the DoJ and they'll get him any information he may be entitled to.

also, this

[Skroe]

^^^ Someone didn't read Comey's testimony and is getting his information from elsewhere because the last 5 or so posts you've made are all easily countered.

So here's the part you seem to have missed:

This. So much this post.

[Thepersona]

Trump fires Flynn not because he talked with Russia but because he didn't properly inform Pence. What has that to do with collusion hello? Now you liberals have stopped making any sense altogether.

Now you are the one who disregards evidence. and is a little stupid in the making of a proper argument.
Reasons behind Flynn being fired =/= reasons behind Flynn being investigated

I know, reasoning, Higher mental capabilities and nuance is a thing too hard for you trumpettes to understand (and have), but still, we (as sane people) must make the effort

[Felya]

Again maybe you're not up to date or you just didn't read. Trump kept asking Comey to finish the Russian Investigation and clear his name as there was no proof of collusion, as soon as possible which Comey didn't do despite being given enough time.

This isn't true. Trump asked him to let it go when it comes to the Flynn investigation. Trump asked if he was investigated, which Comey said he wasn't, before he was even asked. Comey also didn't refuse, he reported to his superiors and asked what the appropriate course of action was. Trump's demands for loyalty, also resulted in Comey asking to not be left alone with Trump.

He didn't ask Comey to stop investigating him and then fire him. Yes if he did that, that would be a crime.

No, he asked if there is something that could be done to let go of Flynn's investigation and if anything could be done to lift the "cloud" of the Russian investigation. To which Comey responded by saying that the best thing to do is for the investigation to be as thorough as possible, without finding evidence.

[PACOX]

Comey: Okay Comey, remember what happened when you wrote the letter about the emails. Lets not get ahead of ourselves.

Alter Ego: No, Donnie, IM going to Make America Great Again

[Felya]

Trump fires Flynn not because he talked with Russia but because he didn't properly inform Pence. What has that to do with collusion hello? Now you liberals have stopped making any sense altogether.

What do you mean "you liberals"? Trump said he was fired over lying. Who did Flynn lie about talking to? If you answer Russian ambassador, might want to rethink your 'not because he talked with Russia'. Which would technically be true... he wasn't fired for talking about it, but lying about it.

[GodEmperor]

Still going about Obstruction of justice lol. You liberal minds are so clouded with hate that you only see what you want to see.

Someone "Hoping" that he ends an investigation isn't obstruction of justice. Glad we got that down. That ends the Flynn case.

Now on to the Russian collusion case and the firing. People here seem to confuse me with Trump. I don't agree with Trump on firing Comey. The reason for firing was apparently because Comey did not fast forward the Russian investigation despite not finding any proof of collusion. Again, I do not agree with the reason for this firing. But it still doesn't incriminate Trump or make him impeach worthy in anyway like you people are hoping. Does it prove that Trump is an impatient man and uses the power he has? Sure. Does it mean he is going to be impeached tomorrow? Lol no.

[Thepersona]

Still going about Obstruction of justice lol. You liberal minds are so clouded with hate that you only see what you want to see.

Someone "Hoping" that he ends an investigation isn't obstruction of justice. Glad we got that down. That ends the Flynn case.

Now on to the Russian collusion case and the firing. People here seem to confuse me with Trump. I don't agree with Trump on firing Comey. The reason for firing was apparently because Comey did not fast forward the Russian investigation despite not finding any proof of collusion. Again, I do not agree with the reason for this firing. But it still doesn't incriminate Trump or make him impeach worthy in anyway like you people are hoping. Does it prove that Trump is an impatient man and uses the power he has? Sure. Does it mean he is going to be impeached tomorrow? Lol no.

again, Trump fired comey because of Flynn (the part that's actually impeachable, on the grounds of obstruction of justice) and because of the russian investigation.
what the hell is so hard to understand for you?

[Skroe]

We're going to need a Congress that doesn't shove its head in the sand. The GOP's stance on this, currently, is that they don't see anything in this statement of substance.

We need to be patient. The sand has already greatly shifted in just... what... 130 days? 130 days ago it was a "hell no". Now? It's being talked about in whispers and relations between Trump and Congress are radioactive and worsening.

We need to keep in mind what is going to happen when Trump is removed. There is going to be a huge legitimacy crisis. And the alt-Right will play it up. But most of all, Russia will play it up. For decades they've capitalized on our domestic misfortune - spreading JFK and AIDS conspiracy theories for example. They will do the exact same about how Trump was removed, to stir up domestic discontent.

To defeat that, we don't need 2/3rds of Senators voting for Trump's removal.... we need almost all of them. It needs to be a united front, rather than a Partisan whack job. A partisan job ends like the Clinton impeachment did.

That is why I'd rather go slow than do it fast. It doesn't really matter where Republican elected officials are now, if they are where we need them to be in early-mid 2019. It's exactly the same thing I said, in essence, about Trump's approval rating. It doesn't matter if it hits rock bottom now... it needs to hit rock bottom when all the pieces on the chest board are ready and in position.

[Skroe]

From lawfare, underscoring what I just said.



That is why this matters.

- - - Updated - - -

I hope he'd resign before they actually had to remove him from office... I think the biggest issue right now is a lack of concrete evidence that's been presented to Congress. If they had some we might see a bit more movement from the right. I do admit they've shifted somewhat, but so many of them are still pushing back on all this that it's very disheartening.

They'll push back until they see their electoral fortunes change.

The key to it is to have the 2020 election look like the Sword of Damocles over Republican's heads. For that to register, they'll need to have a miserable 2018 midterm, particularly at the State level, where Republicans are on defense big time (they will likely make gains in the Senate, and the House will be razor thin). The 2020 map is terrible for Republicans, and they need to believe it's going to wipe them out.

So whats the damn hold up? Republicans are stuck. The vast majority of them detest Trump, but they fear getting primaried. It's as simple as that.

[Celista]

Again maybe you're not up to date or you just didn't read. Trump kept asking Comey to finish the Russian Investigation and clear his name as there was no proof of collusion, as soon as possible which Comey didn't do despite being given enough time.

He didn't ask Comey to stop investigating him and then fire him. Yes if he did that, that would be a crime.

He waited until no one was around to talk to Comey about the investigation, and then made up some bullshit reason to fire him. I'm pretty sure the bolded is what actually happened.

[Skroe]

That's the big question mark at this point though. We need voters to actually turn out next year and kick people not doing their job out of office. The GOP is still painting a narrative that the average citizen in a red state doesn't care about the Russia investigation nearly as much as they care about other issues. If that's even remotely true it worries me. Hell, they elected Trump with everything we knew.

FWIW the Anti-Trump group I work for is pretty much built around getting Red / Swing state America to care very, very, very much about Trump-Russia.

Trump having a grassroots problem around 2019 (or if he survives, 2020) is a core element of what is required to take him down.

In other words, that GOP narrative, which isn't true by the way, has an expiration date. And it'll worsen when so much as a single indictment comes down.

And that's Trump's problem. For him to 'win', everybody, Flynn included, has to be exonerated, and Mueller has to say "nothing happened that was illegal... ill advised, but not illegal". The bar for his success is enormous. For Trump to lose, one figure - just one, like Carter Page or Flynn, has to be officially indicted... not even convicted. It will keep Trump-Russia alive, for years to come.

Trump's own staff characterizes this as "Death by a Thousand Leaks". They're entirely correct (for a change).